1988 - Mount Gambier

 

10 July 1988

Written as a 16 year old.

At 10am my parents and I left our Morphett Vale home.  We were to be travelling to Mount Gambier for two full days to visit my relations that have just moved there.  As we entered into the country side I began to take descriptive notes about the scenery.  These came out in short jottings about items that I saw as we travelled.

Twisted silver-blue gum trees.

Holiday makers in cars.

Farming a way of life.

Neighbours miles apart.

We stopped at a parking bay just outside Tailem Bend.  Dad's fascination with birds found him looking at small finches in gums.  An old rusted out white Falcon lay desolated not far from the area.

Windmill rusty and worn.

Hay sheds scattered every mile or so.

Carpeted green grass.

White gravel on the side of the road that kicks under the car tyres.

Long dirt/gravel driveways leading to homesteads.

Our next stop was just before Willolooka.  Dad went for a walk.  Later he came back to the car and said that a lamb had just been born.  We went to look.  The mother protected it but I came just near enough to take a photo.  The lamb was still covered in after birth and couldn't walk.

If you stopped and thought, we were the first humans that the lamb ever saw.  The mother had chosen a well protected area behind a clump of bushes in a paddock.  There were no other sheep in sight.

Rusty ploughs - old.

Old ruins with walls full of history.

Splotches of homesteads along side of road.

We past through Padthaway, a small town only a few houses, general store and bare necessities.  However, a modern set of tennis courts proved the town was slowly being taken over.  This area is involved in the production of grape wine and most grapevines had recently been pruned.

Rusted out water tanks. 

Odd showers of rain.

Sheep freshly shown.

Stopped at Naracoorte for petrol (59.9) and refreshments.  Through Penola (5277).

Full of parks.

Through Wangwarry.

Sweet smell of freshly cut pine.

Finally we saw the tower at Mount Gambier in the distance.

Green pastures everywhere.

As we found our relations house we past a tourism feature of Mount Gambier. It was a replica of a boat called Lady Nelson.

Arrived at T.... at 3.38pm. After saying hello to my Aunty, Uncle and two cousins K, aged 11 and B aged 9, the girls wanted to take me to their primary school just two doors down.

The school lay at the end of the street.  Steps led down to the oval  The oval area reminded me of a Canadian school because of the light fog an five tall poplars that stood around the edge of the oval.

We had tea and then decided to go for a night walk.  We made our way down to the Lady Nelson to see when it opened.  Also we saw the lights of Mount Gambier.  Retiring to bed at 10.10 after writing to a few penpals.

11 July 1988

Awoke at 8.45. Had a cup of tea and eggs and bacon for breakfast at 9.15. At 10 we left for the Lady Nelson.  This is a new tourist attraction in the area which helps you to understand the environment of Mount Gambier in past years,

You are taken into the boat and shown around the lower deck, go into a room that shows tourist attractions and an imitation of a volcano (sound effects and all). walk across a glass bottomed passage with prehistoric rocks underneath, and watch a twelve minute film about the green triangle.

There are several computers that you can play on that quizzes you about the south east area of South Australia and you can walk through a door to a strip of land that has been recreated into a prehistoric environment. 

The film was especially educational and had some great photography and scenery filmed through a helicopter. 

Postcard I bought in 1988

Then it was on to one of the many cheese factories in the district. Here we watched cheese being made and had tastings. Three cheeses were available for tasting.  Blue Lake Semi Yahl Matured and Vintage Cheese. After buying a few cheese in bulk, we decided to make our way back to Hillcrest Avenue for lunch.  The weather in Mount Gambier continually changes.  Due to this, the afternoon was undecided.

Finally we made up our mind to go to the famous lakes and caves of Mount Gambier and other sites in town.

In the heart of the city is a new building called the Sir Robert Helpman Theatre.  The building was opened in 1981.  It features a library, a movie theatre and council office and is considerably big and spacey. 

At about 3 we made our way across the road to the famous Garden Caves. Ferns grew freely down inro a deep cave. It seems unusual to have something so different like that in the centre of a city. After taking a few photos we went for a quick walk around the block past the newly painted Town Hall, then onto the Lakes.  The Blue, Brown, Valley and Leg of Mutton Lake are all near each other so we spent most of the afternoon driving around the lakes and up to all the tourist lookouts to find the best advantage points.

The Valley Lake is the activity lake of the four. You are allowed to swim, ski and fish in the Lake.

Then it was onto the Umpherstone Caves situated in the outer part of Mount Gamier, the caves provide a beautiful environment and (different to the Garden Caves), you can actually walk down to the bottom and have a BBQ or picnic there. We spent the afternoon there and had afternoon tea. Then it was home for tea, walking then bed.

Walking

Even though the nights were cold we all got rugged up and went for daily walks.  These walks led us around the surrounding areas of the Jubilee Highway and basically around the city centre.  We looked at the city shops and some of the old buildings in the area.  The walks were a good time to talk about what we saw that day, discuss ideas for tomorrow and generally see a little more of Mount Gambier and have fun.

12 July 1988

Awoke at 8.05, breaky at 9. We left to go to Port McDonnell and after about a half and hour trip, we arrived. 

We travelled along the Esplanade until we came to a lookout point on the coast.  Then it was back to the jetty for a look around.  When we got back, Mum and Aunty had morning tea prepared.  On the way home we dropped into Dingley Dell, Adam Lindsay Gordon's house (1833-1870).  Settled in South Australia in 1853.  He inherited money from his mother and settled at Dingley Dell, near Mount Gambier.

After we arrived home it was then off to the YMCA pool for half an hour.  The centre also has a gym and other facilities for fitness.  The pool was heated and once inside the room it felt like a sauna.  While my cousins had a swim I managed to catch up on a little of my homework and organised all the project material I had gathered.

It was home for lunch and a brief rest before my family decided to go down the main street to look at the shops.  However it was more than 15 minutes later when my parents found a long lost friend walking down the main street that the shops were forgotten and conversation set in.  The rest of the night was spent relaxing and watching TV.

13 July 1988

Awoke early and packed to go home.  Spent the morning at the Sale Yards where my Uncle works.  My Uncle is the Manager of Bennett and Dalgety Farmers in the Mount Gambier region.  We were shown around the yards and watched farmers, butchers and business' bid for cattle.  We left before we could see the sheep being bidded for.  We went along the Coorong on the way home, through Beachport, Robe and Kingston SE and along the Lakes - George, St Clair, Eliza and Robe.

We stopped at Robe for lunch and walked around the shops for a while. We also dropped into the Big Lobster so that I could get a postcard to add to my collection. Then it was down through the Adelaide Hills (due to the truckies blockage) and home for a late tea.

[In July 1988 an Australian truck dispute occurred where independent owner-drivers blocked major roads for several days to protest against rising registration fees and a newly implemented 100km/h heavy vehicle speed limit].