Walcha

"The Family" - Tom Deko

The problem with towns within an hours drive of your own, is that you rarely take the time to explore
them. Usually you pass through, just underway on the journey out or your are pushing on, trying to complete your journey in.

For us, Walcha is one of those towns. We have lived all around it - Nowendoc to the south; Armidale to the north; and Tamworth to the south-west; but until this trip, we have never explored it. It lies about the intersection of the Oxley Highway and Thunderbolts way.

Only 20 kms from Apsley Falls, we made short work of transferring camps from the Falls Campground to, Walcha Caravan Park. A relative had stayed there recently and spoke with great enthusiasm of it, which again, surprised us. Often these smaller, independent parks are well meaning but short on quality; and more often, they are just crap. This is neither.

The grounds are immaculate, with soft, abundant grass on all of the sites and garden beds dotted about which give a very cared for appearance. The amenities block is first rate, in terms of facility and cleanliness. There is fully enclosed and well equipped camp kitchen which has been designed to encourage conversations. Cabins are also available. No pool, no jumping castles and bugger all for kids to do, which seems to make it a sought after stopping point for GN visitors. Prices were in the medium range and management asked us if we had concession cards. Well away from the busy roads passing through Walcha, our two nights there were peaceful.

So you've found a good sport to camp but what's to see in Walcha?

Looking across the Apsley River
toward St Pauls Church

The generously named Apsley River cuts the town in uneven halves. Large levy banks are erected on either side of the river, so flooding must have been a problem at some stage, although its hard to imagine when looking at the benign stream which dawdles between larger pools and forms wetlands for a good variety of birds to feed and rest. The largest of these pools, the Mill Pool near the southern extreme of the town, is said to have been the spot where the first white settler, Hamilton Sempill, took up his run and called it Wolka, from the local aboriginal name for the area. His slab huts were built where the magnificent Langford homestead now stands.

This spot also marked the start of a trading route for aboriginal peoples from the area, who used to make their way along the river and down through the gorge country to trade with coast mobs.

Both levy banks are topped by wide walking/bicycle paths which extend its length and are dotted with some of the sculptures which are dominant feature of the town. Walcha is home for a number of prominent sculptors and artists: Angus Nivison, Tom Deko and the redoubtable Stephen King being three important ones among them. Known as the Open Air Gallery, the sculptures are placed about town and an informative brochure and map from the information centre in Fitzroy St (Oxley Highway) makes for an enjoyable walk around town to view and learn more about the work. Apart from Langford, there are some interesting old buildings, each of them with a story to tell.

The Apsley Arms

Did you know that the property Mirani, a few kilometres up the Thunderbolts Way toward Armidale, was, in 1950, the scene of the first aerial spraying of superphosphate in Australia? The task was performed from a Tiger Moth, which these days lives in the town museum.

We had a pleasant pot of tea at Cafe Graze, being left alone in the cafe for a while as the staff and customers from nearby shops watched a horse race that seemed to have their attention and being told "I hope you folks with be okay in here by yourselves." We also enjoyed a quiet beer in the tastefully enhanced Apsley Arms and listened, second hand, to some very funny yarns from a couple of local blokes sitting at the bar. It was the Australian equivalent of the Yorkshire Men sketch of Monty Python fame.

Click here to see today's photos

All up, we had a pleasant couple of days in Walcha and were impressed by a little town which we have passed through so often, without ever knowing what a little gem it is.