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Unfortunately, I haven't always had internet service where we've been staying, so I'm doing my blog on an app I've downloaded onto my iPad and am posting it to the blog when I get service. I apologise if these entries land all at once.

Before we stayed at Tullibigeal, we stayed for a few days at Hay, a bigger rural town servicing the surrounding areas and situated on the Murrumbidgee river. Hay has an interesting history. We visited the Shearing Hall of Fame in the outskirts of the town and it was very informative, interesting sound displays and a shearing demonstration amongst other things. The shearers of past days are credited with forming the Australian Workers Union which was the beginning of the Australian Labor Party, one of our two major political parties and the current Government. In the 1800's, the shearers held a 10 month strike because the farmers, (commonly called "cockies" in Australia) wanted to reduce the price they were paid per sheep. The farmers employed other workers to combat the shearers provoking them and the result was often violent confrontations between the two. After the strike, the two parties reached an agreement and have really only had two major confrontations since.

Hay is also on the path of "The Long Paddock", an Australian reference to droving cattle long distances in search of feed in times of drought and to fatten them up before taking them to market. The Long Paddock stretched from Wilcannia in the west of NSW to Moama on the NSW/Victorian border of the Murray River, a total of 610 klms. There was a safe river crossing at Hay, as long as the river wasn't swollen.************************

The old railway carriages at the historical railway station hold a museum to the "Dunera Boys" and the internment camps during WW2. The Dunera Boys were a group of about 1800 German & Austrian Jewish men who escaped to England before the war. Once England declared war with Germany, these men were rounded up as possible enemy aliens and were told they were being sent to Canada, and they boarded the ship "The Dunera" believing this, but were shipped to Australia. They were sent to Hay and were joined by others from Australia, Italians, Japanese and were held in internment camps for some time, before being sent elsewhere. These men were, for the most part, learned scholars, teachers, and the like and a lot of them stayed in Australia after the war, thus enriching our institutions with their knowledge and teaching abilities. The Italians of course could make wine and were very keen gardeners and the camps were totally self sufficient and also supplied some produce to the surrounding areas. Very interesting story....there was a movie some time ago about "The Dunera Boys" and I think there may have been a book too.
On another note, the local high school had a memorial museum to all the soldiers in all wars who had come from Hay. It was very inspiring and a credit to the school that they place such importance and pride in their sons.