WE’RE IN BINGARA – AN IDYLLIC LIFE BY THE GWYDIR RIVER

 WEDNESDAY  1ST SEPTEMBER   -   We left our overnight stop in Barraba and travelled through some stunning countryside for an hour until we reached the beautiful little town of Bingara.  We parked in town and went into the Tourist Information Centre to find out about the many free camping areas available by the Gwydir River.  We picked up some supplies and headed out of town and across the bridge looking down on some stunning sights of the Gwydir River below and our first sighting of the gorgeous camping grounds surrounding the river.  As we drove over the cattle grid into the camp ground, we had our first stunning view of open grassland, trees, birds and lots of horses roaming freely all over the grassed areas.  We were totally amazed and immediately smitten with the beauty of the place and eagerly drove further along the river to the designated camping area.  It was very busy with caravans and buses lined along the water’s edge.  We thought at first that all the available spots had been taken.  We managed to find a suitable spot and set up. 

VIEW FROM UNDER THE AWNING

Behind us there were lots of horses chomping on the grass and I felt I’d stepped into seventh heaven being so close to them in such a picturesque setting.  I couldn’t contain myself and had to go and pat as many of them as I could and offer them some carrots and bread which they eagerly took.  Sally wasn’t so sure of them and kept a very watchful eye on these huge creatures.

Bingara is nestled on the Gwydir River in the New England Region of north west New South Wales, in-between the New England and Newell Highways, a 7 hour drive from Sydney and 5 hours from Brisbane.  It is the shortest sealed route between Brisbane and Melbourne. The Gwydir River is a main catchment of the Murray-Darling system.  Bingara has a small population of 1,300.  What it lacks in population it certainly makes up for in friendly faces with a hearty hello to everyone they pass on the street.   They’re all super friendly and helpful and only too happy to have a yarn about their beautiful little town to anyone ready to listen.

Bingara means “creek” and “shallow river crossing” and is one of the few places in Australia where diamonds have been found.

Gold was discovered in Bingara in 1852 which created a boom with many settlers moving into the area.  Copper and diamonds were discovered shortly afterwards.  At that time, Bingara was one of the largest producers of diamonds in Australia.

The area is on the Fossicker’s Highway and a very popular place for bird watching (with over 200 native birds in the area), horse-riding, bush walking and hopeful fossickers looking for gems, sapphires, crystals and topaz.

According to the locals Bingara has over 300 days when the weather is “just perfect”.

Several times each day the horses came down to the river to drink and walked right besides us, sometimes just under the awning and in-between the parked vans. They were all different colours and such magnificent beasts.  I was totally fascinated watching them.  They often crossed the river in a big pack which was another spectacle to see and went to the other side for fresher more juicy grass.

Each day was just as idyllic as the previous one with ducks and water hens swimming past in the fast flowing water.  They were so funny to watch swimming sideways as fast as their webbed feet could go trying to outswim the current and make it to the bank, only to fly upstream skimming the water to do it all again.  We cracked up every time we saw them.  Then they’d all gather in a big clan on the river bank to chill out.

When we weren’t watching horses, ducks or water hens, there were so many beautiful parrots, butterflies, cockatoos and galahs flying past and the most beautiful Superior Wrens flitting about.  The male had a brilliant electric blue head. We often found him perched cheekily on top of our wood pile.

SUNDAY 5TH SEPTEMBER   -   Our friends Penny and Peter arrived to spend a week with us.  We hadn’t seen them since we first met up at Woodgate Beach in May.  We had told them so much about the place that they were keen to get here and see it for themselves.  They’re keen fossickers with all the gear and they were eager to see what they could find around the area. 

We went to the RSL Club for the $11.50 roast dinner including a free midi. The plate was full of meat and veggies and we all left with full tummies.

MONDAY 6TH SEPTEMBER   -   We went to watch Pete and Penny doing some fossicking.  They gave us a great introduction to prospecting and taught us what to look for and how to sift and sort a find.  Unfortunately they didn’t find anything of great value but we had a fun time with them out in the bush.

Their friends Carol and John arrived to stay overnight with their newly purchased van and 4wd.  We had a roaring camp fire and cooked baked potatoes in foil and had a fantastic night with them all.

FRIDAY 10TH SEPTEMBER   -   We drove 64 kilometres through some stunning countryside with deep green valleys and peaks and huge herds of cattle grazing to the northern tip of Mount Kaputar National Park to see the phenomenon Sawn Rocks a 40 metre high wall of  perfectly formed pentagonal (5 sided) basalt pipes resembling organ pipes.  They were the result of slow and even cooling molten rock from the Nandewar Volcano 21 million years ago and are the best preserved examples in Australia. 

They were just amazing to see with different colours of browns and beiges.  We really had to crane our necks to look right to the top of them.

SATURDAY  11TH SEPTEMBER  -   We had an early morning treat watching all the horses being mustered up and taken across the river to the corral where there were weekend trail rides.  Because they were so spread around the area, there were small groups running wild everywhere trying to avoid the inevitable muster.  It was like watching The Man From Snowy River with horses everywhere and it was so quiet all day without them.  Later in the afternoon, they came racing across the river once more very thirsty and tired from their day’s work.   We watched them rolling on the grass glad to be home again until the following day.

We were very fortunate to see 3 brand newborn gorgeous fluffy foals with their very proud and protective mums during the week.  They were kept in the nursery corral for a few days and we drove around to where they were to watch their unsteady efforts to grow into their long, gangly legs.  They were asleep on the grass most of the time, and would only stir to have a drink from their mums before folding down so awkwardly on their legs to sleep once more.  We’ve watched them getting stronger day by day and it’s been a real privilege to be part of their first days of life.   There are still a few heavily pregnant mares around.

MONDAY 13TH SEPTEMBER   -  We went to The Roxy Theatre in town for a tour inside the fully restored cinema and theatre complex with an adjoining café.

 THE RESTORED ART DECO MILK BAR/CAFE

We learnt the colourful history of how the café was started by 3 Greek immigrants from the Island of Kythera who arrived in Bingara in 1924 to establish a café called Peters and Co which became a franchise amongst Greek shopkeepers throughout Australia.  They later decided to expand the café and built an entertainment complex with a picture house, 4 shops and a guesthouse.  Unfortunately shortly afterwards they went bankrupt.  The Roxy operated as a cinema until 1958 when television contributed to its demise and it closed down.  It lay waste for nearly 40 years.  The café and residence above it were sold and became a Chinese restaurant for many years until the owner sold it in 2004.  The café and cinema complex were lovingly and painstakingly restored by committed townsfolk with grants from State and Commonwealth Government to its former art deco glory with most of the original fixtures and fittings and stucco plaster and paintwork still intact. During the restoration 6 dressing rooms and facilities were added to the back of the theatre and an outdoor courtyard for conventions and functions.

There was a very interesting Greek Museum inside the foyer area telling the combined Greek and Australian history.

The original ticket box is still in its spot on the footpath outside the cinema.

It is now used as a modern regional centre for performing arts with the north West Theatre Company putting on plays and musicals throughout the year.  It is also used for seminars, weddings and private functions and can seat up to 400 people.  The Sydney Symphony Orchestra have also performed there.

There was a photo of Paul Hogan and Shane Jacobsen proudly displayed in the foyer, taken during the shooting of their movie together “Charlie and Boots”.

We thoroughly enjoyed the tour with our enthusiastic volunteer tour guide and learnt so much about the town’s history as well as the history of the café and cinema complex.

We have had a brilliant 19 days free camping by the magical Gwydir River in Bingara and are so glad we found the spot purely by accident.  It would have been a tragedy to have by-passed this absolutely beautiful place.  We’re very reluctant to leave.  It’s such a picturesque and friendly place.

A MASSIVE TREE BY THE RIVER 

NEXT WEEK:  We will be free camping overnight at beautiful Bretti Reserve 300 kilometres south from Bingara on the way to Gloucester.  We will be in Gloucester for a few days then on to Dungog and on to Nelson Bay.