Aug 27 - Sep 2

27th August Sunday
Leaving this morning from Lake Narleen and driving a very short 20kms into Cue and staying in the one and only caravan park for two nights, very cheap at $20 per night.
Quite windy so both shade cloth walls are going up to see how they go, in preparation for Tassie.


In the afternoon Russell and I and Billy went for the walk around Cue to see the historic town.
Cue is a small town in the Mid-West region of WA famous for discovering gold in 1892. By around 1900, Cue boasted a population of about 10,000 but WW1 and The Great Depression caused the population to dwindle and by 1933 the numbers dropped to fewer than 500.
Cue is a Heritage Listed town with 18 historical buildings to walk past.
Rain and wind is expected this afternoon and the sky is darkening.

28th August Monday
Still raining this morning and was nice to sleep in.
Russell and Neville will spend most of today over at Cue hall installing radio equipment, while Robyn Sue and Billy walk Cue township 2.7km consisting of the following buildings of which still stand today:
Gentleman’s Club ( Shire of Cue). Constructed in 1895. Restored and refurbished in 1985-86 and is now occupied by Cue Shire Council.
Old Goal. Built between 1896 and 1897. Closed down in 1914 but used for lock ups until the early 1930’s. Has been unused since 1977.
Pensioner’s Huts. In 1955 the Cue Shire resolved to apply for a vacant lot for pensioners. Between August and December 1958 six of the smaller buildings were removed from the former hospital at placed here.
Cue Primary school. The first Cue Primary School was built in 1896. A second larger classroom was added in 1898 to cater for 40 additional students. A third building was built in 1904 and these three buildings are still being used today.
Cue Shire Hall. The original Shire Hall was burnt to the ground on the morning of March 4th 1955 after being struck by lightning. The Hall here today started out as change rooms at the Bog Bell gold mine. This building was dismantled and brought to Cue, and was officially opened in 1957.
Masonic Lodge. Built in 1899 of timber and galvanized (corrugated) iron, with a pressed iron interior. Murchison Lodge 22 was consecrated on 21st April 1897, and regular meetings were held in the building from 1899 to 1979, when they were cancelled due to falling numbers. It now belongs to the National Trust (WA).
Old Municipal Chambers. Opened on 23rd September 1896.
Fire Station. The present building was not constructed until 1936 and its unremarkable style is typical of that time.

This afternoon after having walked through Cue and taking many photos, we settle into the afternoon, watching the sky darken again with incoming rain storms. We decide to leave the awning up with side walls and Billy to sleep outside. Well that was short lived, as the wind increased with rain Billy was again inside for the night.






29th August Tuesday.
Leaving Cue this morning plan today is to sightsee a few interesting places on the map of interest.
We head to Historic Big Bell Township first which is only about 37 kms from Cue, and what a fascinating history.
In November 1935, Premier Gold Mining Company annonunced that it would develop a mining operation at Big Bell. An agreement with the State Government in March 1936, to build a railway from Cue to the mine leases, signalled the birth of Big Bell township.
The township of Big Bell was gazetted in 1936, and at its peak in 1954 boasted a population of 850. A guide book of the time may have described the town as follows:
“The first impression one obtains of Big Bell townsite is the profusion of ornamental trees that surround residences. Trees are not plentiful on the arid plateau and ornamental trees are painstakingly tended. The streets are wide, as are the streets of all goldfields towns. Water from three Government water supply wells is reticulated throughout, and electricity is supplied from a modern plant. Residences, though small, are neatly furnished, the majority having a garden and boast at least one small patch of green lawn.
The shopping area is modern and caters for all demands. Films are shown three times weekly, there being two changes of programme. Mail services include air and surface several times weekly. Friday is market day, for the perishables arrive on that day from the metropolitan area…..The town’s list of social and sporting organisations is a formidable  one and would not disgrace a town of greater population…..Churches of various denominations have been built, while the only hotel is large and modern and caters excellently for the travelling public”.
Big Bell township declined rapidly following mine closures in 1955.
The below photos are of the church and what remains.

After spending  a few hours here at Big Bell, we continued on, following a map we were given to locate some unusual locations.



We passed many abandoned homesteads, some of which we drove onto and walked around.

Following the Dalgaranga Road we stopped at Walga Rock which is a 2km long monolith and featured a cave containing Aboriginal paintings. To us it looked like a mini Ayres Rock just longer and not as high.

It was here at Walga rock we stopped and had lunch, while Neville flew the drone to capture some amazing aerial shots on the top of the rock. Russell decided to walk to the top and confirmed there was water holes situated across the top, some only shallow but a few over a metre deep.

The next photo opportunity was a Meteorite Crater at Yalgoo estimated to be about 50,000 years old, this crater was not discovered until 1961.
Onwards we travelled and drove upon another abandoned homestead that captured our attention, as at first, we could not work out what type of farm it once was, until we walked into the old sheep shearing shed, and located the holding pens, dipping run and all the old farm equipment now destroyed.

                                                                 




It was astounding to see so much of someone’s once livelihood gone with only remnants remaining.
We leave the Dalgaranga area and decide to start looking for a place to camp for the night. Not as easy as first thought, the wind was very strong and we were all trying to locate a spot off the road and out of the wind. After a few attempts driving off road to old abandoned mines, we decided to head off the beaten track behind low shrub and a hill for wind protection.
Fantastic, it worked a treat and in no time, we had both vehicles, camper and BT set up, firewood gathered and alight while Robyn and Sue prepared dinner to eat around the nice warm fire. The night sky was filled with stars and the wind had disappeared leaving only the sound of insects calling.
It is going to be a cold night so we are all having the diesel heaters on for a warm sleep. Billy fell asleep on his bed beside the fire and was not too impressed when we woke him up…….but soon he realised he was sleeping inside the van we were forgiven I am sure.

30th August Wednesday
Heavy fog this morning rolling in and over our camp site- so pretty
Leaving Buangnoo Hill camp spot and continuing along the unsealed Dalgaranga Road to Chinaman’s Rock where we will stop for morning tea. We took a walk up this 20mtr rock which was a very easy climb and a great 360 views.  Billy found some water holes scattered across the top of Chinaman’s rock to take a dip in which some were quite deep. After here we drive a further 45kms on the Yalgoo Road which is also unsealed with boggy water holes to drive through as we trek towards Jokers Tunnel. This tunnel was apparently once dug by the joker miner syndicate. The tunnel passes through a hill and is over 100m long and is home to bats and poisonous snakes (entry at own risk).
We walked in the tunnel with headlamp on, video and torch in hand with Billy leading the way. The tunnel height was only about 1.8 mtrs high so we were stooped walking through. The smell of bats was overpowering but worth the walk in. The bats were very tiny and laid asleep in the crevices of the cave roof, although we did had a few flying past us when we continued deeper into the tunnel.

We stayed in the area for lunch and enjoyed the view of Narring Ranges. From here we do a circuit back through Yalgoo which encompassed very long unsealed roads between points of interest. We viewed more wildflowers and wreath flowers along the edges of the road.
This afternoon we are stopping at Old Canna camp on Offszanka Road ( Wubin-Mullewa road)Very large flat ground and we are the only ones here.
We have TV 😊




This is the camp for the night at Old Canna.

31st August Thursday
Leaving Old Canna and taking a sightsee through the small town on Canna before we leave. As we entered the township of Canna there was more camping here with an honesty box for electricity usage for the caravans that were already here.



We found an original red telephone box bit no phone and an old pump up petrol pump.
From here we head South to Morawa to have a look and see if we can buy a much-needed coffee.
The information centre was very helpful and recommended the local roadhouse for lovely homemade slices and good coffee. It was here Russell spent some time re-inflating the tyres as we will back on sealed roads all the way to Dongara.




Stopped in at the next town of Mingenew and what a pretty place. We were stopped in the street when walking with Billy with admirers wanting to pat him.
Sue purchased some handmade placemats for our table with Australian designs of animals and wildflowers from the visitors information centre.
We continue West towards Dongara where we will re fuel and start planning where we will stop for the night.
So we decide on Seven Mile beach Dongara for a few days- a 72 hour rest stop right beside the ocean.

1st September Friday
This morning the wind was fierce and patchy rain fell last night as well.
The Ranger also appeared asking Neville and Robyn to move their camper trailer up from the grass dune area and back onto the dirt, which was no problem.
We went over to help fold down their canvas and move some gear across as the wind was taking hold of everything.
So, after breakfast we head into town and pick up a few grocery items from the IGA before making our way back to camp.
The ocean swell increased through the day, but Billy still enjoyed staying on the sand waiting for someone to come and throw a stick into the rough water. The rest of the afternoon he dried off and fell asleep in the soft green grass.
We unfortunately spent most of the day inside the van just to keep out of the strong wind.
2nd September Saturday
The Saturday markets are on in Dongara town so we all are going to have a look, and stopped in at the Moreton Bay Coffee Café boasting a huge fig tree out the front “Coffee Tree”. We walked around town found the visitors centre, bakery, hardware, IGA, post office and a few other small shops.
Back at camp the sun has finally come out turning the ocean into a turquoise colour exposing shallow rocks. Further out to sea we can see massive waves and white caps breaking over an outer reef. We viewed these waves with binoculars and estimated the waves to be over ten metres high and they continued for kilometres crashing over and over with so much power.
Some people came over when we got back and discussed their travels with all of us whilst enjoying this amazing ocean view. Billy again has enjoyed the water and loves to spend his time relaxing on the beach waiting for anybody to throw a stick for him.
Quite a few more people came in the camp area this afternoon and we chatted to a lady who lives in this local area and owns four dogs, of which Billy was having a fun time playing with here at Seven Mile Beach.

Maybe we will never came home.