Thursday 18th July
I knew it was going to be cold. 3 degrees last night but a lovely typical sunny winter day. We drove out to the Kirar Weir today. Not a lot of water about but it was a nice drive. There is a free camp spot just near the weir that can be accessed from the main road or via the dirt track that we ended up on. Still it's good to get out and about as this is pretty country. Clive walked to the R.M. Williams display which is also at the information centre. We back onto the golf course so it's just a walk across the course and over the road. They play golf her every Wednesday and Saturday. R.M. Williams was born in South Australia and later in life moved to Queensland where he settled at his property called 'Rockybar', a cattle property west of Eidsvold. Clive walked into town - about 5 minutes away and down the main street. A point of interest is the Alice Maslen's Hitching Rail. This was a place where she could tie up her horse when she came to town as she never gave up her horse and buggy for modern transport. He also went past the Eidsvold Historical Museum. This was closed as it is run by volunteers. It's probably a good thing as we end up with another 100 photos. Still he managed to get a few through the fence. Tomorrow we head to Gayndah stopping on the way to see the Black Stump.Wednesday 17th July
7.5 degrees last night - heatwave. Clive washed the Jeep and the front and back of the van today. Talk about dirty. A nice day with clear blue skies. It must have worn him out as the rest of the day was spent reading by both of us. 7.7 degrees at 7.30pm, so another cold one. By 9.50pm it's down to 4.4 degrees. Clive has even put gloves on as he says his hands are cold. Such a precious thing. Mind you, I've been wearing fingerless gloves for quite a while now. The Eidsvold area was originally settled in 1848 by Thomas and Charles Archer. They were Scottish born Norwegians who emigrated to Norway in 1825. In 1848 the Archer brothers moved to the region naming their stations Eidsvold and Coonambula. Eidsvold was named after Eidsvoll where Norway's constitution was signed in 1814. In the 1880's the town emerged as a bustling gold town. It boasted 15 hotels to cater for the thirsty diggers with a population of over 2000. Today this is around 460 people. Eidsvold is home to the traditional owners, the WakkaWakka, the GoorengGooreng and the WulliWulli people.