Jen & Poppy - FORMER GLORY

Mt Gipps and Tarrawingee

Day 16 Saturday May 23, 2009

After a slightly slow start, we were on our way heading north on the Silver City Highway in Deirdre’s band new Toyota Landcruiser. First stop, just off the highway at Yanco Glen. We foraged through the remains of the old pub and settlement trying to piece together what would have been there, with only footings, smashed bottles, rusty metal and corrugated iron to go by. We took a few samples with us, then we drove the 9kms of dirt to the gate of Mt Gipps Station. An 85,000 acre working sheep station, now owned by John and Kym Cramp. Mount Gipps Station was one of the first properties settled west of the Darling River in the 1860’s. Sidney Kidman worked there as a young lad. In 1883 Charles Rasp a boundary rider along with 6 other men working on the station staked out a mining claim to one of the richest silver, lead and zinc deposits in the world. They formed a syndicate of 7 and called it BHP in 1885. In 1891 a private railway line was built from Broken Hill to Tarrawingee limestone quarries. Evidence of this line can be seen today weaving its way through Mount Gipps. Mount Gipps Station has a geological history spanning from around 800 million years to 1.7billion years and there are also several old mines on the property.

When we arrived at the homestead, Kym greeted us with a refreshing cuppa and a slice of Australian Celebration cake. Kym first showed us around the station’s shearers huts and the old overseers homestead, which she rents out to interested tourists. They are in the process of trying to restore the property to its former glory, and they’re doing a great job of it.

On our way to Tarrawingee, we took a slight detour to check out the relics of German Charley’s hotel. Back in the Toyota again a few kilometres up the road, we came across the incredible letterbox of Poolamacca Station, pictured above. It was another big photo session here for Jen, Poppy and Deirdre, as Kym forgot her camera. Then it was on to the remains of the village of Tarrawingee. The only evidence left of this once thriving 300+ person town, is the stone train station platform, about 5 huge in-ground stone water storage tanks, footings of several dwellings, a stone verandah floor, millions of smashed bottles in every colour and loads of flattened, rusty tobacco tins. We looked around here for a few hours before the tall shadows moved us along. The sun was getting low as we headed north a bit further to see the old limestone quarry. We walked down into the base of the open cut mine and from here the ancient layers of stone are truly amazing.

It was a quick trip back to Kym’s station for a hurried look at their woolshed before the sun went down. We sped past the most amazing sunset as Deirdre drove like a bat out of hell back to the Hill.

Stay tuned.

Poppy and Jen