Jill’s grandfather was promoted to Inspector around 1931 and was posted to Deniliquin after studying and passing the necessary exams whilst he served as a Sergeant in Queanbeyan. He retired in 1938 and moved back to Moss Vale firstly and then to Queanbeyan where he was appointed Coroner, a position in which he served until…
Today was an interesting day as we travelled around the area near Cowra following Jill’s family history. If you missed it, you can read about it here. We started our day by looking around the site of the WW2 internment camp on the edge of the town of Cowra. In 1941 a prisoner-of-war (POW) camp was…
Our trip around the locations at which Jill’s Grandfather served during his police career is not in the same order as the places to which we was posted. We are now at Cowra and today, we spent a few hours exploring the nearby little village of Gooloogong, which is where his story starts. Frederick GeorgeRuffles,…
My post today is a little shorter than my previous posts as today was just a travel day for us to transition from Moss Vale up to the Central NSW town of Cowra. After leaving Moss Vale we travelled back through Goulburn and then turned north to Cowra. We found the unique Goulburn war memorial…
We spent yesterday exploring family history and we devoted today to exploring the towns and surrounding areas of these Southern Highlands. This area reeks of history. Many of the towns here are amongst the oldest in regional New South Wales. Even the place where we staying, ‘The Briars” is historic. It was built in 1845 as…
I’ve always thought that the most scenic coastline I have ever seen is along the Oregon Coast in the USA. Yesterday, we explored the beaches and coastline for about 15 kilometres to both the north and south of Batemans Bay and I think that in many ways, it rrvals the coastline of Oregon. The beaches…
It’s amazing how much difference a day makes. Yesterday was grey, cool and wet. Today was warm, clear and sunny. It’s good for the soul and for photography to see some sun! The first part of our drive to Bega was straightforward. When it comes to good old Aussie cheese, few names come up as…
It’s been very wet here in Merimbula. Since we arrived two days ago, we have had over 100 mm of rain (4 inches). Everything feels damp, the ground is sodden and some roads are closed. Even this poor bedraggled Wattle Bird sheltered under the verandah of our cabin for an hour or two. Fortunately, we…
We had another rainy day as we drove from Bombala up to Cooma, and then on to Merimbula where we will spend the next three nights. For most of the day, we drove cross the rolling Monaro Plains. This area of NSW is prime grazing land, mostly for sheep and wool. The topography reminded…
It was raining when we left Lakes Entrance this morning and it stayed wet all day. We refuelled before leaving and headed towards almost the most western place that we could go in the State of Victoria. We didn’t stop at many places, not only because it was raining, but we had seen much of…
Next Friday, we begin a driving tour into central New South Wales in search of some family history. We originally planned this trip some months ago but couldn’t undertake it because of Covid restrictions. It’s now a good time to go. We are going to visit the towns where Jill’s grandfather, Frederick George Ruffels, was…
Some towns that seem quite unremarkable have a fascinating history when you look a little more deeply. Such is the case of Walla Walla, NSW. On our way home from Port Macquarie, we called into this little town because it is the name sake of the city in which my lovely friend Keiko lives in…