01 June 2014
The Giant Ram that welcomes visitors to the centre of the sheep breeding area, Wagin
Sunday morning in Wagin is very peaceful and quiet, no need to get up early today as we have planned a quiet one. We could see the historic car owners getting their vehicles ready to show in the main street. We drove along the main road, found a petrol station to fill up with fuel for our trip back to Perth tomorrow.
The majestic Town Hall (left) and the Court House (right) in Wagin
We wanted to find the Giant Ram, and found him in a lovely park where we walked through to see the water feature and the native plants, and came across a huge poster with a map of the town and discovered where the Wagin Historical Village is located.
The small lake and water feature at the Wagin Park (left) and beautiful native flowers (right)
I was able to catch some photographs that I missed yesterday, then we had a look at the historic cars all beautifully presented by their proud owners. There was a variety of vehicles, and a lot of people around who are obviously interested in the motor vehicles of yesteryear. It was then time for a coffee at Mango’s Takeaway, before we discovered the Tourism and Volunteer Award winning Wagin Historical Village.
Two of the much-loved and well cared for historic vehicles on show in Wagin
The Historical Village is only a short distance out of town, near a large sports complex where a footy match was due to start this afternoon. There is also a playground and a skate park for the kids. The Village was amazing, we spent over an hour there, and it is obvious why it has won the Awards. It is advertised as the “best social history museum in Western Australia” and has 25 buildings from the region’s past. There is an original Schoolhouse, Bank and Hospital Quarantine Ward that have been transported and re-erected in the Village, as well as models of the Post Office, General Store, Barbers Shop, Dressmakers, Village Hall, Fire Station, Stables, Dairy, Shearing Shed, Stone Church, Wattle and Daub Cottage and Mud Brick Cottage, Printing Office, Blacksmiths, Bootmaker and Saddlery and a number of vintage Tractors & Machinery. It is a real credit to the volunteers who have constructed the Village and maintained it over the years, and a real pleasure for us to be able to see it all.
The Wattle and Daub Hut (left) and a row of shops (right)
Interiors of the Bank (left) and the Printing Office (right)
We had planned to have a quiet afternoon as the trip has been fairly full on to date, and we needed some catch up time. It was an opportunity for me to get up to date with the blog although we only have 3G internet here and it is taking ages to download the images. Even had a nice afternoon doze!
The Palace was again our venue for dinner, I had such a large serving last night that I decided on an entree of a dozen Pacific oysters (largest oysters I have seen in a long time – and delicious) and a dessert of Sticky Date Pudding, and Pete opted for Soup and a Vegetarian Pasta.
Tomorrow we wave goodbye to rural Western Australia as we drive back to the city of Perth for our last five days. We will spend some time in Fremantle, perhaps Swan Valley, and hopefully catch up with my cousins, and Pete with his cousins. Think I’ll have an early night tonight!
