June 15^th

We awoke late and did not even hear the morning notes from the large flock of Corellas camped in the nearby trees. The temperature was about 4 deg and reached a daytime top of a little over 20 deg.

Athenaeum Club in Wilcannia

Late morning we drove into Wilcannia for a ‘look around’. It is a town which needs much more support for it to grow into a busy and interesting Tourist Town. Many of the old stone buildings have been there since 1880s when the Alfred Desailly family lived in the area. Connie Desailly, daughter of Alfred, married Edward Dickens in 1880. Edward was the youngest son of Sir Charles Dickens and was a great supporter of the district of Wilcannia and eventually represented the area in State Parliament. I am proud to be part of the Desailly family ancestral tree.

Connie and Edward managed the station property of Mt Murchison. We have arranged to camp on Mt Murchison which is now owned by Ian Marr who has developed it as and Artist’s precinct. Ian is an artist himself and works as a Letter Cutter using stone as his base medium.

Now back to today….after lunch we walked 4km out to a point on the Darling River known as ‘Bondi Beach’. It was a long walk along a dusty track. John was disappointed as he was looking forward to visiting Bondi Beach…a ‘sight for sore eyes’! It was another flat area looking over the Darling River..a great spot for a camping weekend but no bathing beauties! After walking 8 km return I am very weary but pleased to have been able to enjoy the activity. The birds on the lagoon were many an varied. Another interesting day!

Bondi Beach on the Darling River