Up down and around a bit in South West W.A

[OZDUCK]

The town of Gwalia is basically a ghost town. It is open to the public and you can wonder through the various buildings without charge or supervision. The mine shut in 1963 and the town died overnight.

A Brief History Of Gwalia And The Sons Of Gwalia Mine » Shire of Leonora

www.leonora.wa.gov.au

 

[OZDUCK]

We had a number of these old cyclone beds when I was a kid. I used to sleep on our verandah in one over summer for years. I actually used to find it pretty comfortable when combined with a kapok mattress.

















I had a President fridge just like this as a bottle fridge for decades. All the plastics inside eventually broke but the compressor and motor was still as good as new when we got rid of it.

 

[OZDUCK]

The lockup - lined with Jarrah.







I have some of those screw jacks in my back shed - inherited from my father



The most impressive remaining building is the old State Hotel



There was a nice sunset glow that evening

 

[OZDUCK]

A quick look at the museum around the Hoover House

One of the old 'woodlines' trains - used to collect timber for firewood and construction



You can see how narrow the gauge was



Some machinery

 

[OZDUCK]

The next day we headed south. Our departure was full of mistakes. When we checked out at the museum office my wife bought me a book for Fathers Day. I cunningly put it down to chat to the lady running the shop and then walked out without it. I remembered it far enough down the road where it would have cost more in fuel and time costs to return than the book was worth. Our German friend then discovered her room key in her pocket about 200 km down the road. After a phone call we dropped it at the Menzies Council Office as the council staff often travel between the two localities.

Our next stop was to see the statues at Lake Ballard

Everything you need to know about Lake… | Australia's Golden Outback

Western Australia is blessed to have such an incredible, unique landscape - like white sandy beaches, waterfalls, and red outback deserts. The state is also scattered with our famous, naturally occurring salt lakes, coming in all colours, shapes and sizes! One of our favourites is Lake Ballard ,…

www.australiasgoldenoutback.com

It was actually pretty pleasant weather there at around 23 C. On our previous visit it had been over 40 C and very trying.







The nearest 'island' is climbable - but not by me





Our German friend was convinced that there was water in the lake. She was very doubtful by our explanation that it was just a mirage so she went off for a bit of a walk. As I said, the weather was mild and we could see her all the time so it wasn't dangerous. She returned and admitted that we were right.

 

[OZDUCK]

Some more wildflowers







We then went south to visit the abandoned cemetery where my grandmother is buried. She is buried at Mulline which is just a little north of Davyhurst.

The roads were a lot rougher here.

 

[OZDUCK]

Only a few graves have markers







A group called Outback Graves has started a project to mark the 'lost' graves in these abandoned cemeteries.

Home

Preserving the Outback Pioneer History of Western Australia by finding, researching and telling the stories of unmarked graves.

www.outbackgraves.org

Among the graves they have recorded is my grandmothers and her 4 year old daughter. My grandmother died in childbirth with her unborn child. From what my father and aunt recalled her daughter was a 'blue baby' and may have had a heart defect. The original grave markers have disappeared over the years - they may well have been wood. I had thought about placing a plaque previously but was unsure about the legalities and so forth. A donation will be sent to this group to thank them for their efforts.





We took the Riverina road back to Menzies - a long stretch of gravel.

 

[OZDUCK]

The next day we headed off to Esperance - just under 400 km.



Just north of Norseman we passed by Lake Cowan - a salt lake measuring about 160,000 hectares when filled.





These flowers were scattered all around the approaches to Norseman. They are gazanias a South African flower. I don't know why they are so prolific in this area.











Norseman Hotel



The roundabout at the entrance to town has a memorial to the Camels that were widely used to open up this area

 

[OZDUCK]

The first thing we did in Esperance after unpacking was to go for a walk out on the Tanker Jetty. This jetty was opened in 2021 and replaced the 'real' tanker jetty that was built 1935 in and demolished in 2019 after being deemed unsafe and unrepairable. To say that there was a controversy about its destruction is a severe understatement.







We then for a drive along Twilight Beach Road to the east ,oops, west of Esperance

It was a pretty wild evening







I don't know why foreigners think Australia is dangerous. There were also a couple of portable illuminated signs warning that sharks had been sighted very recently.



We saw that there was a chance of a nice sunset so we headed off to get to a better spot for it.

 

[Daver6]

Having stayed a night at the Menzies hotel, I can confirm it truly needs work done to it and not surprised it's deemed unsafe. A real shame as it's the only accommodation in town and the gateway to Lake Ballard.

For your German friend, there is water in the lake....sometimes. It has rained heavily the evening prior to our visit in 2018.



Obviously it was beer o'clock for Mr Horse when we visited...

 

[OZDUCK]

Driving 'towards' the sunset was a bit awkward



Some more gratuitous sunset shots











The evening light was beautiful



The mighty Statesman is equipped with the latest in Green Screen technology and more physical buttons than you could ever want

 

[OZDUCK]

Having stayed a night at the Menzies hotel, I can confirm it truly needs work done to it and not surprised it's deemed unsafe. A real shame as it's the only accommodation in town and the gateway to Lake Ballard.

For your German friend, there is water in the lake....sometimes. It has rained heavily the evening prior to our visit in 2018.

View attachment 411302View attachment 411304

Obviously it was beer o'clock for Mr Horse when we visited...
View attachment 411303

We were at Lake Ballard around Easter in 2018 and while it was very slushy we couldn't see any standing water. I would like to see it when the statues are knee deep in water.

 

[Daver6]

We were at Lake Ballard around Easter in 2018 and while it was very slushy we couldn't see any standing water. I would like to see it when the statues are knee deep in water.

Suspect it was the leftover water from when I was there first week of March that year. I think it would be pretty rare for the water to get knee deep for the statues but that would be very cool!