Thirty-Four Social Club youngsters met the early morning muster for departure to the historic western towns of Grenfell and Young. There was a promise of high temperatures and some trepidation about the route through the Blue Mountains with reports of a large bushfire near Mount Victoria. Fortunately the Great Western Highway, although smokey, remained open and a breakfast stop at MacDonalds near Bathurst cleared some heads and refreshed our palettes.
Clear of the mountains the landscapes of hills and plains through the towns of Lithgow, Bathurst and Cowra opened up and from the yellowy/brown colour of the surrounding fields it was easy to see that drought conditions were having a big impact on these lands. Our first stop at Glenoma Alpaca Farm reminded our travellers that the warmth on the coach was a mere introduction to the soaring temperatures outside. A recent shaving of the coats of the Alpacas gave them a cool and cute appearance which emphasized their elegant necks and their beautiful large oval eyes. They were willing models for our photographers and equally willing to be hand fed by a supply of mats of cultured barley grass which the owners grew on their property and which looked green and healthy enough for carpet in your home.
Our arrival in Grenfell did little to disturb the quiet and vacant streets of this old historic Gold Rush town (1866 – 1871). The Royal Hotel provided an excellent lunch before we met up with historian “Bruce” for a coach driven tour of the town. Now eighty, Bruce has always lived in Grenfell. Originally known as “Emu Creek” Grenfell is the birthplace of Henry Lawson and was a haunt of bushranger Ben Hall. The town is a mixture of old and new with heritage listed areas set amongst new houses and an ambitious plan of the local Council to attract residents to a new estate boasting blocks of serviced land for $48,000. The current drought is hitting this town severely and the lack of crops and pasture is having a ripple effect on the prices of stock and the ability of farmers to meet their commitments.
Young presented a much busier appearance (population 12,000) and has all of the usual town accoutrements such as KFC, MacDonalds and Best and Less. As their brochure says “Today Young offers unique attractions, a wealth of accommodation and dining facilities to suit the tastes and needs of every budget”. Known as “The Cherry Capital of Australia” it was this nomenclature that excited our group. After a night’s rest at the “Town House Motor Inn” our cherry picking fingers set to work first thing on Sunday morning. A later visit to JD’s Jam Factory educated us on the many uses to which our juicy crop could be assigned.
Afternoon functions were more relaxing with visits to Lindsays Woodonga Hill Winery and Yandilla Mustard Oil Factory. The success of these visits was measured by the rattling sounds of various bottles as the Coach sped on its return to Sydney, the route for which followed a more southerly path via Yass and the M5. I loved the medium size and country setting of Young and fervently hope that its progress is not halted by the current severe drought.
Thanks again to Nadia’s hard work in planning this return to Young and to photographer extraordinaire and President Jim Sullivan who reliably counted on all of us. Glen our Coach driver was as considerate as ever and showed great foresight in taking a trailer for all of our booty.
Kevin McBrearty