It was great that once again Russell stepped in to give us an interesting talk about his trip to Tumut, Adelong, Batlow and Tumbarumba which he enjoyed with other members of the Queanbeyan Probus Club in April.

The trip begin with a stop in Harden to look at the silo murals and a talk by "Bill the bastard". From there they journeyed to Tumut enjoying some time along the Tumut River, and also had an interesting time at the broom factory where they produce handmade brooms - mainly for commercial purposes.

At Adelong members of the group learnt all about the Gold rush days and viewed the crushing plant and other equipment used to pan for gold.

Blowering Dam was their next stop, looking at the Tumut Power Station then onto the Yarrangobilly Caves before arriving at Batlow for some cider tasting. 

On the way back they stopped at Gundagai and Bowning before arriving back in Queanbeyan, having had a really enjoyable 4 days exploring a lovely part of southern New South Wales. 

 

Liz Scrivener

(PS It was a great advertisement for the Probus Club sponsors and their tour partner, Trade Travel.

Ed.)

 

 

A wonderful example of local history and heritage from Russell's talk about  Harden- Murrumburrah and Tumut. Bill the Bastard was an unrideable horse  which only answered to a few, including A B "Banjo" Patterson.  He was shipped to the Middle East  in World War 1 and used to rescue and retrieve injured soldiers from the front, sometimes carrying 4 soldiers at a time! At the Battle of Romani, he carried his rider and 4  troopers 3 km to safety. Later in the same battle, his rider was shot in the leg  and passed out , but "Bill" carried him to the nearest medical centre.

A life-like sculpture carved by a local stone-mason  Carl Valerius is a feature of Murrumburrah's  town centre. 

To see the program of future meetings, visit: Rotary activities Spreadsheet.

 

 

The clean-up crew of P Warrick, Michael, Graham and Neal with musician Johannes Latham, getting the Bell ready on Sunday afternoon for the rehearsals for Prime Minister Takaichi's visit on Monday.

Monday 4.15pm - The rain stopped and blue skies welcomed the Prime Minister Takaichi and about 200 (3 busloads) of media and security at  our Peace park. The PM planted a Black Pine commemorating 50 years of the signing of the original Basic Nara Treaty. The music written for the occasion, incorporating the Peace Bell ringing, was superb.

After planting the tree , the Prime Minister spent a few minutes at the Memorial to the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe  who was assassinated in Nara  in 2022. Wreaths were also laid by our PM and CM Barr.