It was hot and dry, and M and I chatted and chatted about old time, when we were children living next door to one another in the new suburb of Ballara Park (since renamed). Our parents had not known one another until my parents bought the block next door to them, and built the house that we moved into soon after my sister was born. It was a friendship that lasted all their lives. We had great fun as children, though we didn't go to the same school or church.
Then they moved to Kimba, South Australia, a place where their family had set up a farm years before - in fact were the first settlers in Kimba, so since the beginning of the history of this town, the family has been involved.
My parents visited Kimba on several occasions I think, and of course when in Adelaide, the Kimba family had visited my folks. I had lost tough with them, and it was at Dad's funeral in 2011, that I met them again. So I was able to visit on my journey.
After leaving Port Pirie I headed north, and diverted to Port Germein. and had a quick look around. The jetty was the longest jetty in the Southern Hemisphere. One of the sights that I saw was a strange contraption that towed in a group of fishermen in their tinny.
After Port Germein, I headed north, but just before Port Augusta turned off to Quorn, which is a small town with a history that involved my mother's side of the family. I went to the Information Centre, but there was not a lot of information there. There is a mountain, Mt Ragless and I think I saw it, but I headed out to Willochra area, where there is a cairn to commemorate the Ragless family who lived there, According to booklet that I bought The Ragless family squatted in the area in 1849, and when the first pastoral leases were granted in 1851. It is written that the Ragless family "first camped in a dug-out in the banks of the Capowie Creek and shepherded their sheep northward on the Willochra Plain".
It is pretty desolate land, and I can only imagine how difficult it would have been for them at that time of our history. Apparently the Ragless family built a mud hut, near Willochra, and their 'run became known as the Mud Hut Station". The property prospered, and in the early days they irrigated crops from the water in the Willochra Creek, which is now salty. There is quite a lot written about the Ragless family in the area. There is a cairn, which sadly has "lost" its plaque.
I headed through the outskirts of Port Augusta and headed to Kimba. Along the way I passed Iron Knob.
When I reached Kimba I called Mr H, and eventually found his home on the property outside Kimba, and spent the evening chatting about old times. It is so hot and dry there, and one can see the devastation of the trees in a previous drought, but there is still good growth of trees. Last night I saw huge kangaroos drinking from a water trough near the farm house, and crept out with my camera to take a photo, but they saw me and I missed my chance as some 30 kangaroos raced back into the bush. There was a wild cat too, and it raced away at a cracking pace. Quite funny really.
I left Kimba early in the morning after a night there, and headed for Port Lincoln.
Then they moved to Kimba, South Australia, a place where their family had set up a farm years before - in fact were the first settlers in Kimba, so since the beginning of the history of this town, the family has been involved.
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| The old home has been rebuilt and is part of the exhibition of the Kimba museem. |
After leaving Port Pirie I headed north, and diverted to Port Germein. and had a quick look around. The jetty was the longest jetty in the Southern Hemisphere. One of the sights that I saw was a strange contraption that towed in a group of fishermen in their tinny.
After Port Germein, I headed north, but just before Port Augusta turned off to Quorn, which is a small town with a history that involved my mother's side of the family. I went to the Information Centre, but there was not a lot of information there. There is a mountain, Mt Ragless and I think I saw it, but I headed out to Willochra area, where there is a cairn to commemorate the Ragless family who lived there, According to booklet that I bought The Ragless family squatted in the area in 1849, and when the first pastoral leases were granted in 1851. It is written that the Ragless family "first camped in a dug-out in the banks of the Capowie Creek and shepherded their sheep northward on the Willochra Plain".
It is pretty desolate land, and I can only imagine how difficult it would have been for them at that time of our history. Apparently the Ragless family built a mud hut, near Willochra, and their 'run became known as the Mud Hut Station". The property prospered, and in the early days they irrigated crops from the water in the Willochra Creek, which is now salty. There is quite a lot written about the Ragless family in the area. There is a cairn, which sadly has "lost" its plaque.
I headed through the outskirts of Port Augusta and headed to Kimba. Along the way I passed Iron Knob.
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| Iron Knob |
When I reached Kimba I called Mr H, and eventually found his home on the property outside Kimba, and spent the evening chatting about old times. It is so hot and dry there, and one can see the devastation of the trees in a previous drought, but there is still good growth of trees. Last night I saw huge kangaroos drinking from a water trough near the farm house, and crept out with my camera to take a photo, but they saw me and I missed my chance as some 30 kangaroos raced back into the bush. There was a wild cat too, and it raced away at a cracking pace. Quite funny really.
I left Kimba early in the morning after a night there, and headed for Port Lincoln.
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