MUDGEE

When we left Cowra heading for Mudgee it was a bright sunny morning, but when we were approaching Bathurst it became very foggy and chilly. Leaving Bathurst and the fog behind we continued on towards Mudgee. We stopped at a little place called Ilford and discovered this plaque at a rest area.

The next day was a housekeeping day. Catching up with the washing and ironing, boring chores that even though you are on holidays you can never get away from! Also caught up with the shopping and had a stroll through the town.

Mudgee is a reasonable sized town and is renowned for its wineries - 40 in total - and is also a great tourist attraction. The 'Mudgee Small Farm Field Days' were being held this weekend so the town was fairly busy. Field Days are like a country fair with a lot of emphasis on farm machinery. 

General Store

Saturday saw us head of early for a drive to the tourist towns of Hill End and Sofala. These two towns are old gold mining towns set in fairly hilly countryside. There are only a few of the original buildings still standing in Hill End.

Post Office

 
 











Where as in Sofala the main street which is quite narrow is pretty well still intact.



 

Sunday we headed off to visit Gulgong another old gold mining town as well as the birthplace of Henry Lawson's mother. Now the mines around the town are coal mines. Apparently there is a very good living to be had working in them.














Henry Lawson and some of the old buildings of the town featured on Australia's first $10 note. When they featured this building on the note they cropped out the top half of wording on the building because it mentioned 'America'!

There was also an excellent display of the life and times of Henry at the 'Henry Lawson Centre'. His mother was a very domineering woman and suffragette and had little time for Henry.

 

After lunch we drove to look at 'The Drip' which is situated on the Goulburn River. The river meanders through spectacular gorges and grassy banks. Clear spring water drips from a tall cliff above a rocky bed on the Goulburn River, hence the name. The walk was 1.5 kilometres in and was very picturesque with lots of ferns, on the rock faces as well as on the ground. Rock Orchids also grow here but were not in flower at this time.