Glen Innes walkabout

Three degrees again overnight with the promise of a clear day.

Last night we decided to have dinner at one of the local eateries. We checked out a couple of the local pubs, but on a Tuesday night they were near deserted. We walked back to the RSL Club were the place was jumping - money wheels and raffles and a near full bar area. We headed for the Crystal Room Restaurant where we had and excellent meal. We were however somewhat amused by the barman - When I selected a Jacobs Creek Reserve Shiraz from the somewhat limited wine list, he returned to say that he could not find any, so I suggested he look on the shelf behind him. It turned out that he had been looking in the fridge, and when I declined an ice bucket, he insisted on a couple of cold glasses from the fridge. Another customer at the bar who nearly died laughing at this performance 'fessed up to being the barman from the local Bowling Club. Still learning I guess!

After lunch we did the local tourist thing, starting with a short drive south of Glen Innes to the Stonehenge recreation reserve. The reserve contains a number of large granite boulders, and nearby is Balancing Rock, a large boulder that defies gravity.

Back in Glen Innes we drove up to the Australian Standing Stones - comprising 40 granite monoliths set out as a circle of 24 standing stones representing 24 hour of the day, three central stones, 4 cardinal stones marking North, East, South and West, and 7 stones marking the summer and winter solstices. The site was conceived in 1988 as a bicentennial project by the Celtic Council of Australia as a National monument to the Celtic pioneers of Australia. The site was officially opened in 1992.

Back on the road we visited the Land of the Beardies History House Museum which is housed in the old Glen Innes District Hospital which was originally built in 1877, and closed in 1956. The museum is essentially a folk museum that showcases the history of Glen Innes and the local district and is spread through 25 rooms as well as a number of exhibits in the grounds. The museum was a fascinating collection of local family and business history.

We completed our day with a walk around the central business district of Glen Innes with its buildings that date from the 1870s and 1880s.

Di at Stonehenge

A wider view of Stonehenge

Another view of Stonehenge

More rocks at Stonehenge

The nearby Balancing Stone defying gravity

Overall view of the Standing Stones

Di's been watching Outlander - she wasn't getting too close to the stones

A close up of some of the stones

Excalibur

The Crofters Cottage

Glen Innes History House Museum on the old District Hospital

Di trying the Whipping Stool for size

Old machinery in the grounds

Old wagons in the Machinery Shed

Old ANZ Bank circa 1879

Westpac Bank circa 1884

Glen Innes Town Hall circa 1887

NAB in the former CBC Bank circa 1890

Grand Central Hotel circa 1874