Moree to Roma

Victoria Hotel, Goondawindi

Today I drove from Moree to Goondawindi, The Gums, Surat and Roma, through towns I have not seen before. What surprised me most were the old buildings, which indicated the prosperity of this region in times gone by.

Cotton, on the roadsides, floated up whenever a car passed on the road between Moree and Goondawindi. Dust from a vast area of ploughed ground was visible from miles away. Goondawindi is a thriving cotton town on the border of NSW and Queensland. I visited the Goondawindi Cotton Shop but I was unable to buy anything because everything was made in China (see blog 29 April – My Protest to the Death Penalty).

Moree Memorial Hall

Just out of Goondawindi I crossed a creek which was bright green, but I was unable to stop to take a closer look and a photo because a road train was right behind me. The next thing I noticed was the prickly pears. They were tree size in some areas and totally out of control. They have long been declared a noxious weed in NSW and I have never seen them that big before.

Yellow and black protest signs against CSG appeared after Goondawindi. I read all the different messages as there is little to do on those long straight roads. I found myself looking for the next one, proving this to be a good strategy. News on the radio was about farmers from Narrabri protesting at Santos’ AGM in Adelaide.

I had been told by a Narrabri farmer that local farmers were going to stage a protest today at Santos’ Narrabri office to coincide with the AGM as Santos continued to dismiss protesters as radicals from out of town. I was told they were not. Most local farmers are against CSG. They are moving towards greener practices such as cell grazing and are using less chemicals. Most realise that they must look after their land to continue to make a living. Most farmers feel disenfranchised with the National Party which they believe no longer represents them but they baulk at voting Green, finding some of their policies too radical. I keep hearing this from farmers in many areas.

Driving from The Gums to Surat I was surprised to come across a vintage car museum in the middle of nowhere. Surat’s Shire Hall and Cobb and Co Changing Station indicate that this town prospered in the past. The big pastoral stations in the area grazed both sheep and cattle but sheep were the main industry.

Surat Shire Hall

Cobb & Co’s success and consequent expansion was due to ensuring that trips were as fast as possible. Horses travelled quickly for ten to thirty miles before being swapped for a fresh team at staging posts where the tired horses were stabled, rested and fed. ‘As a coach approached the changing station the driver sounded a horn or bugle to let the groom know the coach was arriving. Every driver had his own call, so the groom knew which team of horses to have ready. This system meant that changeovers could occur as quickly as possible and the coach could continue on its way.’

Cobb & Co Changing Station

‘Often families or married couples ran changing stations, with the husband looking after the horses and his wife cooking stews or damper and providing refreshments for passengers. In some places, passengers could also stay the night. On busier routes and in villages where change stations were established, stables, pubs, hotels and townships sprung up to cater to the number of passengers who passed through. Some of these hotels were little more than primitive shanties, while others became large and prosperous establishments.’

Surat was usurped by Roma as the centre of the region when the railway bypassed Surat but went to Roma in 1880. Surat continued to rely on horse-drawn coaches until Cobb and Co's last Australian coach run between Yuleba and Surat in 1924.

Tonight I am staying in Roma but the Big Rig Night Show has been cancelled as they are expecting rain. I will remain here tomorrow night too in the hope that I will see it then. I have parked the car under cover as hail was forecast in some areas. There are storms to the east and the west but the owner of the motel says that storms tend to go around Roma.

When I was shown my motel room I could smell something awful but then saw the swimming pool and realised it was probably the bore water I had been warned about. I am now used to it.