Out and About Again

A few days after our trip to Cowra I heard an interesting snippet on the radio that prompted another day of exploring last Sunday.  

We headed west again, passing through Cowra, and then travelled for about another hour to the little town of Grenfell.

On our way we noticed a nice silo complex and wondered if it won't be long before we look for silos in the raw, rather than those that have been painted.

Once you travel towards Cowra you can really notice a change in the landscape, leaving the higher Central Tablelands behind and moving into the Central West Slopes and Plains, a warmer, flatter, dryer region, being primarily cropping and grazing country.

We have visited Grenfell quite a few times before, even staying here a couple of times with motorcycle events. However, it has been a while, and this time we could just explore at our leisure.

Our reason to visit Grenfell was, in fact, to see the town's silos.  The news article I had heard was that the silos are currently being painted by Heesco, the same artist that painted the ones at Weethalle, the first painted silos that we saw.  It would be interesting to see them in the process of being painted.

The silos were easy to find, but, we were wondering if we had the story right when we saw the above from the main street.

Yes, we did.  You have to drive down a side street to the rear of the silos to see the art.  Unfortunately, no work was happening on the day, but you do expect the artist to have a day off.  Apparently, the whole process was to take about three weeks and this is about two weeks in. You can read a little about it here.

The owner of the silos and local produce store is paying for the artwork, as he gave up trying to get government grants to assist. It is really effective, especially as the detail is being filled in, like the silo on the right.

You don't realise how big they are until you stand right underneath them.  You can see here the amount of extra detail on the silo on the right.

After we had had our look at the silos it was time to explore the rest of the town.

Like all places, the silos are along side the railway line, and the railway station was right next door.  This pretty little station has been undergoing restoration and conservation by the Lions Club for the last 30 years, following the demolition of a similar one in the district at that time.  It has been such a worthwhile project.  Let's have a little wander around.

The railway line is long since closed, so it is a rather peaceful place.

I love the iron verandah brackets and old signs.

You couldn't see inside, as all the windows were frosted, but the front entrance was rather grand.

The area in front of the Railway Station is a picnic area and free camp, complete with a new amenities block that ties in nicely with the railway theme.  Campers are just requested to make a donation.

Next door, in the old goods shed and an old railway carriage is the Grenfell Men's Shed.  This was the first ever Men's Shed that has started a world wide movement.

We were taken with this unusual sculpture out the front, featuring a canon, plough, axe and hammers.

Once you read the inscription behind it, it all made sense.  Very clever and thought provoking.

There was also another large sculpture depicting the main reason for Grenfell's existence.

Next it was time to wander up and down the main street and find some lunch.  It was a hot day, bit not too hot to be wandering the street.  There are some really beautiful buildings.  The former Exchange Hotel is now boutique accommodation and occasionally has a shop downstairs open.  

We have visited the Albion for lunch on a motorcycle ride some years ago.  A lovely old pub.

There is always patchwork inspiration as you wander historic streets.

Grenfell is famous as the birthplace of Henry Lawson, the poet.  I had to sit down and have a bit of a chat to him.  Each June long weekend Grenfell hosts the Henry Lawson Festival.  We've been saying we must visit for as long as I can remember........one year..........

Being a gold mining town, founded in 1866, there are some lovely old buildings in the main street.

I love the eagle on the top of this one.

Sadly, there are  many empty shops, which seems to be the norm in smaller country towns these days, but there were also some lovely shops selling quality products.  Surprisingly, they were even open on a Sunday.  The little community craft shop sold the yummiest Anzac biscuits.

The Post Office with its town clock was rather impressive.

As was the little Salvation Army Citadel.  Yes, there was a Sallys op shop in the main street, but not open on a Sunday.

Once we left town we headed towards Goolagong and Canowindra.

I love seeing little country churches in the middle of nowhere.

The little St Pauls Church in Goolagong has just been sold.  It was listed for $99,000.00.  Have a peek at the link, as it is rather beautiful inside. What a bargain, if you wanted to convert it and live in a quiet village.

As we travelled along we were struck with how very dry  and desolate it is.  While we received some storm rain a month or so ago, there has been nothing out this way.

We were surprised at the number of willy willies that we saw.

These are just a few that I could get a photo of.

There would have been a dozen or more.

As we neared Canowindra there started to be a few paddocks of irrigated lucerne.  What a contrast those paddocks make.

And finally, as we neared home, back on our beloved Central  Tablelands, we noticed the first signs of autumn, with the poplars starting to change colour.  Soon there will be wonderfully coloured trees throughout the district.

We had a thoroughly enjoyable day out and, of course, will have to return to visit the completed silo murals.....maybe visiting the Henry Lawson Festival at the same time.  We'll see.