The drive to Warren was only a few hours so there was no need to hurry.
Exiting the Warrumbungle NP on the western side, we stopped after we made the first turn, one which would take us south to Tooraweenah rather than continue on to Gulargambone and tertiary roads to Warren. The southern route gave us access to Gilgandra and the Coo-ee Heritage Centre.
Stopping just after the turn south, we were able to take in what I would call the "full-discovery" approach to the Warrumbungles. From the west, everything that is staggering about the Crooked Mountains is revealed. It's still stunning but nothing as exciting as the eastern approach, which reveals the lofty treasures in snapshots through gaps in trees and then, just as quickly hides them again. Suddenly Mt Exmouth appears and then hides ... then Belougery Spire and gone ... and if you stop at White Gums Lookout on the way in, you emerge from a five minute walk at the end of the track to the full metal jacket, jaw dropping view, just as suddenly.
From the west, it's mostly all there. There is more of Exmouth to see as successive lava flows tail off to the south west and you realise it's not only the tallest peak but it has the biggest base.
Swiftly through Tooraweenah, where a southern view of the Bungles can be taken in at a thoughtfully placed viewing platform beside the road, we were back on the Oxley Highway again. The Oxley has been the main thoroughfare so far on the trip, both across to Port Macquarie and for most of the way since. It was only about half an hour before we reached Gilgandra.
The Coo-ee Heritage Centre has been expanded and enhanced since our last visit, when I must admit we didn't take much in. From memory, it was lunch on a 800km drive home from western NSW. It is well worth the visit. After a pleasant outdoor coffee at the kiosk at the back of the Centre, we walked through the several rooms of museum it contained. The Coo-ee room celebrates the first of a series of marches which came to be known as the
Coo-ee Marches held in 2015 in NSW in order to bolster enlistments after the setback at Gallipoli. The Hitchens brothers, Dick (whose idea it was) and Bill Hitchens (who led the march) stirred up the Gilgandra locals and gathered 31 enthusiastic men to march all of the 440kms to Sydney and enlist. Along the way, they were warmly received in 28 towns, who held public functions, provided food and shelter and also provided more volunteers as they went, arriving at Martin Place five weeks later with more than 330.
At one of the first towns they arrived at, the local publican pressed a one pound note into each volunteers hand and asked them to spend it in France!
The Centre also contains stories of local history and artifacts but its the Coo-ee March which is the core of the exhibition - so named because the Mayor of Gilgandra said in his speech as the town farewelled its men, that a coo-ee was ringing out from the Dardanelles calling for help.
Our first full day in Warren had as its central highlight, a visit to the Warren Museum and Art Gallery (the Wam). This refurbished auto repair garage, rotting from the inside out and its two storey high frame topped by rusted sheets of corrugated iron, was one of the oldest in Warren. It had been flooded several times when the Macquarie River broke its winding banks as it flowed through town and was in the minority surviving the devasting conflagration of 1899, in which two thirds of the buildings in Warren were destroyed by a massive fire.
This was a real surprise packet. A superb space has been developed from gutting the old building and using $3.5 million grant to create a museum and build an art space behind it. Standing inside the space, you realise quickly that a highly creative mind, one which is not limited to convention, imagined this. In this case, it was Warren's last full-time GP, Dr Burke (now retired), not content with preserving life in his working days, who breathed his inspiration into the future lives of the people of Warren and all who visit. Brilliantly curated, the displays are carefully chosen, the information short but pertinent and the presentations are highly engaging. I loved the way you seemed to flow through the space, replicating the Macquarie River as it makes its transit through Warren. The use of the subtle audio of traditional owners voices saying words from their language is clever. Its an inclusive space, not with clearly defined sections but with a swirling mix of eddies. A variety of visual presentations engage all visitors but it is the impact of the 180 degree, floor to ceiling projections of aspects of Warren set onto such a big area which is the coup de grâce
. It was stunning. This is a very modern exhibition space and would be quite staggering for any rural setting, let alone for a small town of less than two thousand people. At $8 entry for Seniors it is also great value.On our second full day, we strolled around the
Tiger Bay Wetlands. Established by the progressive Warren Shire Council in 1988 as a Bicentenary Project and opened on Australian Day of 1988, it was funded by the Central West Catchment Management Authority and supported by neighbouring Councils, the local Aboriginal community and the Macquarie Cotton Growers. It had its detractors originally but now attracts tourists to town to spend their dollars, especially birdos. A smaller cousin of the Macquarie Marshes to the north, it consists of a string of small lakes and ponds, either side of the main road to Gilgandra, just on the outskirts of town.
Hundreds of bird species have been catalogued at Tiger Bay. Most of them must have been on holidays while we were there but there was certainly enough to keep us entertained. There were lots of ducks and swamp hens and moorhens. We spotted a Whistling Kite take off and circle on a breeze that was quieter than the previous day but still with enough power to allow the Kite to strut its stuff. A Black Cormorant sat high in one of the dead River Red Gums in the largest lagoon, strangely appearing to be by itself. A Great Egret was standing imperiously in the shallows before making a slow takeoff. There were lots of White Ibis, White-faced and White-necked Herons, Magpie Larks and Red Rumped Parrots. The highlights were seeing the fledglings of a White-Backed Swallow, who gave a new meaning to the term bird hide, as their nest was hidden up in the corner of the ceiling of a bird hide; and discovering a Willie Wagtail on its nest. The irony of the last find, it being the best of all, was it being the last sighting of the walk and only twenty metres from where we parked the car!
River Smart Australia established their base at Tiger Bay in 2015, naming it the Window on The Wetlands Centre, occupying the Warren's original Catholic Church building. A cafe is included, although it was closed while we were there owing to illness. Warren's information centre is located adjacent to the Centre and some excellent information boards are set up to provide knowledge for those unable to walk either of the two kilometres of track which wend through and around the two loops of the wetlands on either side of the main road.
Coffee in town and a relaxed afternoon made for another wonderful day.
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