Steamtown | Paula's Livin' the Dream

Peterborough – Dawson – Peterborough – Black Rock Campsite

Roni, Joe and I left the motel and headed for a quick tour of the Steamtown museum – what a credit to the dedication of Railway enthusiasts who have made this museum so great. The rolling stock and the locomotives, the workshops and the equipment – the vast array of all things Railway is fabulous and would take a very long visit to take it all in. Roni, Joe and I all purchased a window to replace the broken ones in the roundhouse, they need 1,000 people to buy a window at $5 each to start replacing them.

Back to the motel and its goodbye to my friends and off to explore Dawson – a hamlet just north of Peterborough. I have to backtrack to the Barrier Highway through to Oodla Wirra (a fruit fly exclusion zone quarantine point) with a pub called Halfway Hotel. I had to turn west sharply off the highway and follow Dawson’s Gorge road through some very pretty country (hard and stony but scenic). Red gullies washed out by rains and sandy creek crossings in between hills – in through Dawson Gorge and into the hamlet of Dawson. I saw two wedge tailed eagles – one was only 50 metres from me but missed the photo op.

Dawson has one house, ruins, a hall and two churches (which have services about once a month) – it also has a very derelict recreation reserve – looked like a racecourse complete with horse stalls out in the mounting yard – may not have been used for a while. I’m glad I took the time to discover our namesake even though it was a 112 kilometre very dusty, round trip to Peterborough, because TomTom didn’t recognise the road to Orroroo.

On the way back to Peterborough, I was pulled up at the Quarantine Station at Oodla Wirra – there’s a Fruit Fly Exclusion Zone – but luckily the officer knew that I’d only gone from Peterborough to Dawson (by the dust on the vehicle!!) and let me go without losing the fruit that I’d only just brought that morning in Peterborough.

I had the opportunity to photograph the tunnel which the Steamtown Light Show told us about – I discovered it on my way back into Peterborough, and also the Catholic Church at Peterborough – Cathedral size – the original bishop had grandiose ideas for his parish (which was after 1,000,000 square miles!!) It is spectacular and was only completed in 1912.

Off to my campsite for the night just short of Orroroo – (Lyndhurst and Murnpeowie Station tomorrow to catch up with Joyleen and Bully – I’m so excited).

Steamtown Locomotive

Wagon at Steamtown

Roni with Joe on the Piano

The turntable

Oodla Wirra Sign

: Dawson Gorge Road

Dawson Gorge

Dawson Road

Dawson Hall

Dawson Catholic Church

Dawson Township

Ruins

Peterborough Entrance

Historic Rail Tunnel

Lower Flinders Ranges

Lower Flinders from Campsite

Burra – Mt Bryan – Peterborough

I headed out of Burra this morning along the Barrier Highway and was treated to some superb scenery – gentle rolling hills, golden brown and dotted with ruins. As I neared Mt Bryan, there was a wind- farm on the hills to the left of the highway – The Hallett Hill Wind Farm has 34 turbines and produces enough energy to power 40,000 homes. There is a turbine propeller in the park opposite the Mt Bryan Hotel (which lays claim to the heart of Stud Country – will have to revisit that!!). The information available at the site is great as it explains wind power to the travellers. Mt Bryan – now a hamlet on the highway with a Pub and General Store and campsites opposite was once a thriving railway town – 44 trains a week rolled in – passenger trains to Adelaide, freight and stock trains.

On the way from Hallett Hill to Peterborough you pass through more rolling hills and a patch of saltbush which is a landcare project. It certainly grows much taller than at home. I arrived in Peterborough after lunch at Terowie – a railway town which no longer has the rail to keep it vibrant. Toured the main street and then headed back to the highway. Terowie was the changeover of the gauges on the railway and was a bustling town of note in South Australia.

Peterborough Visitors Centre is located in a railway carriage in the main street and that’s where I head – it’s an RV friendly town with great parking behind the centre right in the shopping area. All the shops in the street are on the Northern side and the Municipal buildings on the opposite as a rich benefactor gifted that side to the town. I do a little exploring but mainly catch up on a few letters and wait for Roni and Joe.

Peterborough is in the mid north of South Australia and was essentially a railway town between 1881 and the 1950’s – attitudes and technology changed the direction of transport and Peterborough’s railway history is over and they now concentrate mainly on tourism.

The streetscape is really well done on the southern side of the street – a memorial to railway workers and the soldier’s memorial (complete with Kurrajong trees) make this a very lovely tribute area. Tiles on the footpath with workers names engraved in them is great.

I went to the motel and we readied ourselves for a visit to Roni’s house, exploring the town, including a trip to the Tank Hill lookout and noticing that there’s a private nature Reserve – 10 hectacres with a remarkable range of fauna & flora.. As we were exploring the town we came across St Cecelia’s Historic Hotel – this magnificent building was once the Bishops’ house, then became a Convent with the nuns having girls as boarders – it is now a Hotel (B & B) and we had a tour by the owner Annette. She holds Murder Mystery Plays at the hotel – it is supposedly haunted by the original Bishop.

We headed back downtown for dinner at the hotel which was delicious but huge, before heading out to Steamtown for a great Light Show depicting the history of both Peterborough and trains from Steam to Diesel in South Australia – focusing on the Peterborough Section. The show was really well done and is full of interesting facts and memories. The Monday wash story was classic, apparently on a Monday the children had to throw a cloth over the washing line and run back and forth to remove the coal dust from the trains which had settled on the line. The crash at Walloway was an interesting story – two trains collided at a railway siding with engine drivers and fireman being killed, because one train didn’t make a detour into the station before the other train met them head on. This was a very graphic re-inactment.

It was a late night to end an enjoyable day spent with friends