Mildura Trip (3)

I'm weeks behind I know that but I wanted to finish this off as its been rolling round in my head.
I had some breakfast with Bert Penny on the Saturday morning before he left about 8.30am. I talked a little while with Shirley before I too left to take a photo of the Methodist church where Doug and Dot were married in 1946.

I bought a long black coffee at Macca's and headed off down the highway towards Ouyen in bright sunshine and feeling happy knowing I had two days to get home at leisurely pace in my own company which I have always liked, and the scenery of rural Victoria, always a total pleasure.

There was a Mallee flowering on the roadside, which must be an early, or late, variety, so I pulled up some way down the track to look at the buds. I broke off a twig to bring home to consult a tree book when I got home. It is still behind me here in the office and I have not yet researched it. There was quite a bit of mallee firewood about as limbs had broken from the trees and I had my chainsaw in the van so cut some up and loaded several armfuls into the van. It was dry and and gave wonderful heat to a number of fires when I got back. I was amazed at the amount of litter  so I picked up some cans for Jod.

I turned off on the road to Robinvale thinking I might find where Doug's friend Bucky had lived and have a chat to his neighbours. Henry Buchecker was Doug's best mate from their army days. I knew Henry had died as Bert Penny had told me. Anyway I was in no hurry and couldn't recall ever being to Robinvale before except to perhaps pass through on my way to beekeepers conference at Mildura in the 1970's. I hadn't worked out my route home although I had a rough idea of going through Ballarat to find the house Doug grew up in. Deanie Twaits, wife of one of Doug's cousins, had given me a photocopy of a photo of the house and I knew the name of the street it was in, but not the number.

Gas Engine

Henry Buchecker Block 36B

The Murray at Boundary bend -black box tree in foreground

Ron and Nance Tonkin's house Maryborough

The drive to Robinvale was totally charming as I travelled through irrigation farms of vegetables, almonds, grapes. I was struck by the immense value of the Murray River to agriculture and as a water supply to towns along its length, including cities like Mildura.

Lettuce

I pulled into a Robinvale servo and fueled up, and as I paid I bought a map of Victoria from which to plan my route home. The man serving said "What are you looking for," when I asked him where the Info sign was in Robinvale. I told him I would like to know where Henry Buchecker lived before he died as I was researching some old soldiers. He then said, "Hang on a minute mate while I serve this bloke, Bucky's daughter just walked past with another lady not five minutes ago, I'll tell you where she lives." He then asked another bloke to show me, and he told me to follow his car which I did. The daughter wasn't yet home from her walk so I went to the museum opposite the servo and found a picture of Bucky among the soldier settlers, and I had a good look around and one of the attendants gave me a demo of an old gas engine that 120 years ago powered a generator for lighting in a 32 berth shearing shed.

When I went back to Henry's daughter's place she was home and we had a long chat. She was the youngest of six children and her family had a magnificent garden around the house on their fruit block thanks to Doug who brought up trees and shrubs on his regular visits. When the block was sold the garden was bulldozed. Henry moved into the old people's home where daughter Carol works. He died a few years ago.

I drove on to Swan Hill. The road follows the Murray closely so it was most interesting. It was about 4pm when I checked into a motel. I played with my smart phone trying to do various things and listened to the Demons get thumped by Port Adelaide. There was a Vietnamese restaurant across the road which provide me dinner after a flutter on the pokies at the RSL. I lost $20 quickly so got out of there fast.

Next day I drove to Kerang and turned off to Bridgewater, then Tarnagulla, a fascinating old town looking like it hasn't changed in 100 plus years, Dunolly, Maryborough, onto Ballarat where I looked for Doug's old house in central Ballarat. There were many old houses similar and I couldn't be sure which was where Doug first lived. They were all of the period and are heritage listed I believe.

In Maryborough I came across Ron and Nance Tonkin's house where I stayed sometimes while I worked for them in late 1974 and early 1975. Most of that period I was camped in the Mallee with Ron's brother Jack in a caravan in heatwave conditions of close to 40c or more every day. We went back to Maryborough with a load of honey supers, then returned to the bees. It was nostalgic for me. Ron, Nance and Jack are all long dead. I stayed in a back room with a ghost who visited. It was weird. This ghost stood over the bed when I woke in the middle of the night, watching me. Don't know who it was. It disappeared when I moved. I didn't like to say anything to Ron so I didn't mention it. Later I planned to ask him one day when I met him, if I ever did again, but it didn't happen. 

As I left Ballarat a bitingly cold southerley change with rain came and my drive home through Melbourne and into the hills in dark wet conditions was tedious. I was home about 6.30pm, Lib and Gord had the fire going and a roast on. 

*When I have inserted the photos on this post they do not go where I want them to, which would have made for better reading, but have bunched up and are out of sequence. Sorry about that.