Journey by photograph: Staying in Penshurst

Thursday we say goodbye to Colac and head north to the Hamilton Highway and then turn west driving through Lismore, Mortlake and on to Penshurst.

Trees in Mortlake

Penshurst is a small town with a caravan park with only 8 powered sites so seems for us a good place to ‘hide out’ till after Easter and the school holidays. The Great Ocean Road had become busy and we had encountered buses of tourists trying to see everything in a short time so there is no fun in mixing with that. Penshurst was settled in the early 1800’s and is mainly grazing and crops. There is a high proportion of sheep to people in the area and driving around there are paddocks of freshly shorn sheep everywhere. The paddocks are green as there was good rainfall in this area earlier in the year. There are lovely bluestone buildings built from locally obtained bluestone still standing in the town and although many original shop buildings are now closed there is a hope that the town can be renewed. The caravan park is set in the local Wetland Gardens with the local bowls club and swimming pool located at the rear of the park.

autumn trees in the park

the 'lawn' is duck weed with water underneath

There is a permanent spring that bubbles up and creates the water course that the gardens have been set around. One of the locals we chatted with told us that the children in the 1900’s used to swim there and stop for a drink on a hot day on their way to school. The pools have a lot of duckweed growing over them and from a distance looks like lawn. Youngsters have been caught out when running and not realising that there is water underneath the green carpet. The local resident across the road keeps a supply of old towels at the front door during summer for such occurences.

After setting ourselves up we stay snuggled in the van for Friday and Saturday as the weather is quite cool and miserable. Overcast and showering with a cool breeze blowing there is no enticement to venture outdoors. Sunday the clouds start to clear and there are patches of sunshine so we enjoyed afternoon tea with the couples from two other vans. One couple is from Geelong and just away for a couple of weeks whilst the other couple are from Nowra and are heading off for an adventure for a few months. They are hoping to head for WA like us so we are able to chat about our trip last year up through the centre. We all enjoyed the afternoon and finally headed indoors as the evening closed in and the temperature dropped.

On Monday, Kerrie and Graham (from Geelong) headed off as they planned to be home for the footy match that afternoon. These Victorians love their footy. We decided to go for a walk up the street and see if we could pick up some milk and bread and as we strolled towards the shop we could hear a piper and we were in time for the local Anzac march. A lone piper led the small group to the local cenotaph where wreaths were laid in honour of the fallen from the many conflicts where Australian troops have served. The president of the local RSL sub-branch then invited all present to the local hall for the Anzac service. We had hoped to be able to attend a small town service but had not seen any notice of one for Penshurst so we were happy to see that there was one planned. There were about 120 people attending and it was good to see the range of ages from young children through to the veterans. Following the service the ladies of the local hospital auxiliary served morning tea and the spread of home cooking goodies was a sight to see. There is nothing like a small town for community gatherings to feature yummy food.

On our way home we met up with another local who invited us to have a look see at the historic courthouse and gaol. He is a member of the local historical group and told us how the courthouse was used till about 1970. It was interesting to check out the scratched names and dates in the seats and desk areas in the courthouse. Outside, the gaol building was a surprise. We were informed that these ‘lockups’ has been constructed in England and then sent out as ‘flat packs’ to be assembled on site.

Penshurst Lockup

The walls and floor were thick wooden slabs that have steel bars pass through from top to bottom and side to side. Each timber slab was approximately 8 inches wide and between each 2 there was a steel bar. Each wall was coded, a, b, c etc so as to assist with the construction and these letters are still visible inside the cell. There are ventilation holes and two windows but only a raised ledge for the prisoners to sit on whilst they waited to front the magistrate. The local historian told us that there are still locals in the town who claim to have spent a night in the cell to ‘sleep it off’. As these ‘cells’ were sent out before 1900 maybe the Swedish were not the first to ‘flatpack’.

Driving around the local countryside we stopped at roadside signs that tell about Mt Napier and it’s recent (8000yrs ago) eruption and lava flow. There is a walking track to the top of the mountain and also many other areas of interest in this volcano trail around the Penshurst area.

Mt Napier and the lava flow through the valley