Lovely day again for the 150km drive to Georgetown along the Savannah Way. Our first sighting of significance was the Gilbert River and its one lane bridge. There were two plaques adjacent to the bridge, one for the bridge's namesake, A J Bond, and one for the explorer Sir Augustus Charles Gregory.
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| 050617 The A J Bond Bridge over the Gilbert River |
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| 050617 Gilbert River downstream |
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| 050617 Gilbert River upstream |
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050617 Sir Augustus Charles Gregory MLC KCMG
who passed this way in 1856 |
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| 050617 The story of the A J Bond Bridge over the Gilbert River |
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| 050617 A mango orchard on the Gilbert River |
Next we passed the Cumberland Chimney and the Cumberland Dam. These are the remnants of one of the richest gold mines worked in this area. The dam is a haven for water birds and water lilies were blossoming on the lake.
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| 050617 Cumberland dam near the chimney |
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| 050617 More of Cumberland dam |
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| 050617 More of Cumberland dam |
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| 050617 The Cumberland Chimney |
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| 050617 The story of the chimney |
Georgetown was then with us. Georgetown is the administrative hub for the Etheridge Shire and owes its existence to the gold found there in 1870. It has a population of around 300.
After spending some considerable time searching, we found a mechanic who could fix our Anderson plug problem. A visit to the Information Centre provided us with a booking for tomorrow to see Cobbold Gorge and an inspection of the Ted Elliot minerals collection, now called "The Terrestrial Display". The collection is now owned by the Etheridge Shire. The 4500 gems and minerals specimens are elegantly displayed. We photographed but a few of these specimens, some of which could best be described as beautiful.
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050617 Silica crystals at Terrestrial Minerals Display
at Georgetown (The Ted Elliot collection) |
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| 050617 Amethyst |
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| 050617 Azurite, Malachite and Limonite |
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| 050617 Crosite |
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| 050617 Fluorite |
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050617 The same Fluorite sample above,
fluorescing under UV light |
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| 050617 Agate from Agate Creek, Forsayth |
Georgetown is on the Etheridge River. It must be quite a sight when in flood.
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| 050617 The Etheridge River bridge |
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| 050617 The Etheridge River downstream |
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050617 The Etheridge River upstream
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Tomorrow Cobbold Gorge, and that will be another one off our "gunner" list.
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