Friday 19th September, Wild, Weird Weather but a Wonderful Day

The forecast for today said we could receive some early showers and wind but the maximum was going to be 25 degrees. We drove out to the Rich River Golf Course early this morning with blues skies in one direction and black in the other. Once Rob had his gear I drove off to do a quick shop before heading to the Echuca Wharf. While I was in the chemist, there was a huge crack of lightning, quickly followed by a deafening burst of thunder. It then started to rain but luckily it didn’t last very long. Rob said he only received a few drops of rain out on the golf course and luckily not the thunder or lightning. I had a wonderful morning soaking up all the history of Echuca at the wharf. The museum was brilliant, filled with many interactive displays and out on the wharf there were displays of steam engines, parts of old paddle-steamers, old wool presses, railway carriages etc. I couldn’t believe that this was a free museum. The old buildings in the area have all been beautifully restored and now various eateries, galleries operate from them. I had the most delicious breakfast from one lovely little café! I was fascinated by the founder of Echuca, Henry Hopwood who was an English convict sentence to 14 years transportation to Tasmania. He was appointed as a police constable within a year of arriving in the colony but found himself in more trouble and ended up serving 2 years at Port Arthur. Anyway, once he had served his sentence he moved to this area on the Murray and started many businesses, including ferrying people and goods across the river (at that stage from one colony NSW to another colony, Vic.) at a price. He set up Hotels and by 1858 had almost set up a small town on the Victorian side of the river. Most of the old buildings close to the wharf or on the adjacent, main street, had information plaques about the history of the buildings. Once Rob had completed his round of golf, we headed back into town for some lunch. Following lunch, we went for an hours cruise on a very old paddle steamer, The Adelaide. The Adélaïde is the world’s oldest original coal-fired, wooden hulled paddle steamer in the world. Rob was very interested in the wood-fired steam engine and spent time both speaking with and watching the fireman-engineer stoking the firebox. It was a lovely way to finish the day.