We have been here a couple of days now, after a pretty long trip from Cessnock. It was about 360k's, and apart from the part where you skirt Sydney, it is up and down mountains for most of the trip. Doesn't do the fuel consumption any good.
Now that we are at Goulburn, it is almost back in the outback. The town itself is a pretty good size, with a population around 25000, but it is just so dry. In the caravan park it took ages just to get some pegs into the ground for the awning and the ground matting.
Our first tour of duty here was to check out the BIG MERINO. Of course it is really huge and it is attached to the Big Merino tourist shop. The story of the merino is really quite interesting. The first sheep in Australia came here with the first fleet, but after the first year they were almost all gone, either dying with the climate or as food. It was not until 1796 that a small quantity of Spanish Merino's were brought to Australia and several of these were sold to Captain Macarthur, recognised in history as the founder of the Australian sheep industry, and a Reverend Marsden. In 1804 Macarthur imported more rams from Spain and therein began the start of the Australian wool industry.
The history is very interesting to read, as during both the 1st and 2nd world wars, England bought the entire wool clip from the Australian market, thus depriving the enemy from the important fabric for use in their war uniforms. Wool was such an important fabric to the war effort, that shearers were prohibited from enlisting in the armed forces.
Over the years our wool industry has continued climbing, to the extent that we now export 1/2 a billion tonnes every year to our major buyers, being China, Japan, Europe, the USA and Germany.
After your history lesson we headed down to check out the historic Waterworks. Built in 1885, they were the only complete steam powered water supply in the Southern Hemisphere. It was closed the day we were there, but it is still a pretty impressive site. Deb tried to sneak down for a closer look but decided against it, probably didn't want to find any creepy crawlies in the long grass.
We then headed up to check out the Goulburn Rose Garden. I was actually looking forward to this as I do miss my roses at home. I must say it was very disappointing. It was just covered in weeds, almost as tall as some of the roses, and the roses needed a lot of tip pruning of the dead rose buds. Sadly, I did not have my secateurs with me. It would have been a huge job bringing them back to some sense of beauty.
I know that you have all been waiting with bated breath for it, so here they come. Our next visit was to check out the only church in Australia made from green stone. (Diorite Phoyphryte to the geologists among you). St. Peter and Pauls Cathedral is a really beautiful building, with wonderful stained glass windows. It is currently under renovation, thanks to a $1.5 Million grant, to restore the spire. It also has a mosaic on its side walls, paying tribute to Caroline Chisholm.
Equally impressive was the house next door, which was the home of the Bishop, before the head of the Diocese was moved to Sydney.
We then moved a couple of hundred metres down the street to check out the opposition. I would have to say, it is a very close race with maybe the St Saviours Cathedral just winning. This building is just magnificent. Inside the church, you don't know which way to look. Even up to the ceiling, which was impressive. The stained glass windows were equally impressive, with so many different forms of religious art. The sculpted last supper, just behind the pulpit was so well done, as were other sculpted images everywhere that you looked. High up on the walls were also small circular sculpted images which were just awesome. No, I haven't turned, but it was quite beautiful.
Walking back to the car, as we were parked between these 2 great churches, I had to check out the local Baptist church. I think I know who were Gods favourites when the pecking order was established. I know who takes up the bottom branches of the tree.
As Goulburn is Australia's first inland city, by royal decree, it has lots of great old buildings. I was pretty impressed with the Colonial Mutual Building, as well as the Australian Mutual Provident building in the main street. The Post Office building is also pretty impressive.
We drove out to check out the Historic Riversdale Homestead but decided not to go in. The gardens were pretty sprawling and it would be a full time job to keep them in check. Very pretty gardens but the house was a bit average.
Next stop was to check out the Police Academy at Goulburn and the jail. Not much to report here. Couldn't really get close enough to the Academy to get a photo, and the jail was much the same. I could have probably pulled up and stood in front of the jail to get a happy snap, but the ninjas would probably come out of the trees and arrest me.
We pressed on and went to check out the War Memorial. This building stands like a sentinel, overlooking the town. It has a really strong presence, as you can see it from most areas around the town. A pity the museum up there is closed for renovations. We got a snap of a couple of Howitzer guns that were seized from the Germans, that were on display up there. This is a really commanding building and well worth a visit.
In the interests of my readers, we even went out last night to get some night shots of the churches, merino and the war memorial. The churches and merino weren't lit up but the memorial was. I think the day photos were more impressive.
Went out this morning and checked out the Garroorigang Historic Homestead. This home is 150 years old and is a pretty impressive building and lovely gardens. This home has connections right back to the colonial times and is tied in to the explorer Hamilton Hume. During its life, it has also been an inn on the way to the Goldfields and a finishing school for boys.
We then went to the Bradley Grange and Brewery. The buildings appear to be in fairly good condition, but the gardens are a bit ramshackle. Like everything else in the historic era, you have to pay entry fees to check out inside. We have become a bit selective with those things, as you can only see so many old tables and chairs, bedrooms and ancient women's clothing.
Over all, we have enjoyed our stay at Goulburn and we will be off tomorrow, heading for a little whistlestop out of Cooma called Bombala.
Bye for now.
Barry and Deb.
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