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Day 5
Yes an old Oberon class submarine named Otway it was gifted by the navy because the township was named after British Submariner lieutenant Norman Holbrook, so after it was decommissioned by the Australian Nary in 1995 it was displayed in Germanton Park in the heart of Holbrook.
Next day we were up early 'bleary eyed' for a nice drive down to Echuca which is Australia's home of Paddle steamers.
The historic Port of Echuca is an authentic working steam port, home to Australia's largest fleet of steam-driven paddlesteamers. The port still operates much the same as it did in the 1860's, with their shipwrights and steam engineers providing a vital role in the ports operations.
This is the walkway down to the bottom whalf where we would hop onto our Paddle steamer for our trip on the Murray.
Our trip would be on the PS PEVENSEY, the paddle steamer got her name from a sheep property on the Murrumbidgee river. in the old days she collected bales of wool from station properties and brought them to the Echuca wharf. This steamer is special because it is an authentic paddlesteamer with it's original steam (20 horse power) engine.
Also the Pevensey is known to people all over the world for it's role as 'PHILADELPHIA' in the Australian tv mini-series 'All the rivers run' made in Echuca in 1982-1983.
After our river cruise we hit the road again and headed to bushranger country Glenrowan, where Ned Kelly was captured during his famous gun fight with the police.
After having a gander at the big NED we headed out to the Greta cemetery where they buried Ned Kelly's remains after they dug him up from Old Melbourne Goal, also buried with-in the cemetery are the rest of his family.
While we were at the cemetery a local sheilah was riding her horse past, and rode over to let the kiddies give it a pat which the kids loved.
Once we left we drove straight up the Hume Highway into New South Wales, then took the off ramp into the township of Holbrook where I knew there was an old friend... a tourist attraction which you wouldn't expect in the middle of the bush, something that my Dad took me too once.
Yackandandah (known as Yacka to the locals)
We then drove a ripper drive along the Beechworth-Wodonga road, to a town i've wanted to visit ever since I saw the movie 'Strange Bedfellows' which starred Paul Hogan and Michael Caton.
YACKANDANDAH
The old Yackandandah Motor Garage has been sold and brought by a local artist and has been turned into a Gallery, as you can see they make real ripper sculptures.
After a play on the old submarine we drove back on the Hume and headed for a monument that is edged in Australian folklore, and it lays five miles from Gundagai.
On the 28th November 1932 as a tribute to pioneers of the past the statue of 'The dog on the tuckerbox' was unveiled,
inspired by a bullock driver's poem, Bullocky Bill, which celebrates the life of a driver's dog that loyally guarded the man's tuckerbox until his death.
Five dogs standing near 'Tuckerbox dog' ..... Shaggy Harry, Bilbo Osk, Boxer Chase, Waffles Jacko and Sheepadoodle Saras.
We then drove a bit futher up the Hume hwy and then devirted off North along the Gundagai road towards Cootamundra, there were three reasons why we took this route and we would find them out in the morning. Fairdinkum today we have been as busy as a centipede on a hotplate! and now it was time to set up our camp and get some tucker in our tumies, before hitting the sack for a well worth rest.
Captain Chatterbox Sarah
The ratbag crew mates
Yackandandah was once a prosperous Gold mining town and has been featured in the Australian period film tele-movie 'The Far Country'.
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