I’ve never been given the keys to a bank before so I’ll treasure them greatly. A delightful place to spend a night and apart from the owners, we were the only ones there. They were delightful – so friendly, helpful and considerate. I would highly recommend their place for anyone who wants a lodging experience, not just a room. And for us, the lodging was the main part of our quick visit plus a lovely park and a main street full of architectural beauties.
Inverell provided a wonderful boardwalk track along what would have been a creek, but a simple reservoir wall made it more like a canal. Not only did it provide the town with the sense of a river, it also provided a renovated home for the town’s platypi. At the same time Corrie was doing the main street walk, picking up a special bargain.
Then it was off to the small town of Delungra which heralded the news that the memorial for the Myall Creek Massacre was not far away. A simple red (for blood let) winding track in the shape of a snake took us on a 500 metre walk where reflections of the massacre were on rocks next to trees high up on a grassy hill not far from the Myall Creek homestead.
Bingara was next, and then up from the flats into Mount Kaputar (part of a large mountain range) where we were feted to a special rock formation, 21 million years old. They are called the ‘sawn rocks’ because they look like square organ pipes that have been sawn from the cliff face above.
It was then a visit to rock remnants of an old glacial formation.
A lovely car free and hill free road coming back to an expression of the long straight roads of the north west but this time heading for Narrabri and finally Gunnedah.
Today I saw examples of that much used word – resilience. First is the resilience of the koala who struggle against the developers in places like Glen Innes and Gunnedah. Then there are the endangered platypi of Inverell who also struggle against human interventions. The rock formations remain despite erosion and tree roots. The bank we go to to save our energy, and the cafes that hang on in hope that the other businesses return one day, otherwise they might have to go.
I have already posted a poem on resilience but because I have another, I thought I could make a case for it here. The poem was inspired by a young girl with Tourettes who was interviewed on the ABC in 2019.
It’s a tic she has but wants to be left alone
She says “f… off” then gives her mum a slap,
Then htis herself and throws herself on stone
She’s so damn nice but life is simply crap.
No cure for this so tried brain surgery
The needles worked and drove the tics away,
Infection came and broke the circuitry
The tics returned – the surgeon cried all day.
But there is a cure, it’s called resilience
With purpose – it’s a needle in the brain,
A partner too, it can make all the difference
And crap no more, from life she can’t refrain.
It’s still the tic, but life is now much more
She’s using it to open others’ door.
Hello again! Loved the photo of the sawn rocks – amazing! And the photo of the Bank hotel you stayed in reminded us that we stayed in the same place (we’re fairly sure). We thought it amazing but were slightly spooked, being the only ones there, like you in this amazing building with plenty of history.
You mentioned the Myall Creek Massacre, and while it was vaguely familiar, i looked it up and was horrified at what happened. Interesting thing – seven of the twelve colonists involved in the massacre were found guilty and hanged. Here we are nearly two hundred years later, and there has been virtually no sentencing of cops in Australia, USA and elsewhere who were guilty of killing blacks in custody, as the whole furore in recent weeks and months has alluded to. So we still have a long way to go.
Wishing you well on the remaining days of your epic journey.
Much love.
Janine and Narayan
what a coincidence, although there aren’t many choices