We’ve successfully ended the first day of our road trip after a 315 kilometer drive to Western Australia in Horsham, Victoria. It was a pleasure to leave the congestion of Melbourne traffic behind us and be able to cruise along the open highway. The only issue was the need for Jill to call out ‘hole’ every time we came across another pothole in the highway. I managed to avoid all but a couple and fortunately, they were not deep or dangerous.
Our first stop was at the little town of Ballan where we stopped at the nice little bakery for a coffee and to buy some ham and salad rolls to eat for lunch further up the road.
Our first sightseeing stop was at the Victory Arch and Memorial at the northern edge of the City of Ballarat. The Arch of Victory was built in 1920 and is the largest commemorative arch in the country. It was opened by Prince Edward, the Prince of Wales. The associated War Memorial (or Temple of Remembrance) is nearby. It contains around 4000 names of men from Ballarat and surrounding areas that served in WW1. It shows the level of patriotism that existed at the time. The names of those who died in service during World War II, Korea, Borneo, Malaya and Vietnam were added in 1987.
The Avenue of Honour to the north of the Arch of Honour is Victoria’s oldest and longest known memorial avenue. It was established between 1917 and 1919. Many country towns took up the idea of planting an avenue of trees to commemorate those who served their country. This one stretches for 22 kilometres and consists of 3,912 trees, each with a plaque naming an individual local serviceman who enlisted and for service in WW1 .
The third area of commemoration in this area is the Garden of the Grieving Mother. It is designed to be a space for contemplation and reflection, honouring and acknowledging the grief and anxiety experienced by those “at home”; the mothers, fathers, families and friends left behind, waiting for news of loved ones serving in foreign lands in times of war. Located at the Arch of Victory in Sturt Street, the garden’s inspiration came from World War I but it is intended as a tribute to the mothers and families of all Australian servicemen and women in all wars.
We next stopped in a little town called Buangor to continue the military theme of the day. It was here, before we were married ,that Jill and I stayed over a weekend with her kindergarten friend whose husband was managing a nearby sheep property.
There is a very small cemetery just out of town that contains one very notable grave. General Sir Cyril Brudenell Bingham White KCB, KCMG, KCVO, DSO (23 September 1876 – 13 August 1940) was a senior officer in the Australian Army, who served as Chief of the General Staff from 1920 to 1923 and again from March to August 1940, when he was killed in the Canberra air disaster. He had owned a property in this area.
In 1940, as Australia mobilised the Second Australian Imperial Force to take part in World War Two, General White was recalled to service at the age of 63, promoted to General, and re-appointed Chief of the General Staff. The appointment was shortlived, as White was aboard the Royal Australian Air Force aeroplane that crashed in the Canberra air disaster on 13 August 1940, killing all aboard. General Monash described him as “far and away the ablest soldier Australia had ever turned out”.
Further up the road, at Ararat, we swapped a military theme for a criminal / health one. Near the centre of the town is the former Ararat Lunatic Asylum. It was one of three institutions built in rural areas to replace the controversial Yarra Bend Asylum in Melbourne. Erected between 1864 and 1867, it was modeled on the latest in European thinking on the subject of asylums. It had market gardens, an orchard, vineyards and a piggery. The institution closed in 1993 although it continued to house female prisoners until 2001. It is now more appropriately known as the Prison for the Criminally Insane.
Ararat is also home to a Queen Anne-style building known as Pyrenees House or the original Ararat Hospital. Built in 1885 to replace an original 1860 hospital. It operated as a hospital until 1937. The building has a very ornate tower along with a facade that is impressively decorative
From the town lookout, we could see across to the Grampian Ranges, We don’t have time to visit there on this trip so maybe we need to plan a visit at another time.
The further we travelled towards the west, the more the countryside seemed to be devoted to raising sheep. However, there were also many fields of brilliant yellow Canola.
Located 30 km north-west of Stawell and before reaching Horsham, we passed Damsels Bridge with its Giant Koala. . It is the only thing in the town and there is no other reason to stop there. It originated from the owners of the next door Koala Motel commissioning the construction of this Koala as a tourist attraction. It took twelve months to build on site, and is made from cold cast bronze and fibreglass set in a steel substructure. The head was built separately and lowered into position by crane and a fibreglass paste was used to create a rough, hairy effect on the exterior.
Tomorrow, we continue further west across the border into South Australia.
