CHASING CAPTAIN THUNDERBOLT

Following the trail of Captain Thunderbolt, we found ourselves in villages dotted along the New England area of New South Wales

WORDS BY LORRAINE HOLLOWAY, PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN & LORRAINE HOLLOWAY

A trip down memory lane ten years ago with my mother had us visiting Walcha on the beautiful New England Tablelands of NSW in autumn. She had grown up nearby and wanted to show us the playground of her youth. Fast forward to 2015 and we were back in the area camping with family, this time as grey nomads, and chasing memories of Captain Thunderbolt, a notorious bushranger of the 1860s.

Thunderbolt Way, a byway stretching from Port Stevens in NSW to Goondiwindi on the QLD/NSW border, is an ideal shortcut for those wanting to travel from Sydney to Queensland’s outback. In our case, we travelled from Walcha to Inverell.

FROM WALCHA

From our base near Walcha, we were able to see New England at its best, with autumn leaves coloured red, orange and amber, falling like snow to the ground. Recent rain had water cascading down the Apsley Falls in the Oxley Wild Rivers National Park, where you can choose the 1km loop Gorge Rim Walk, or the longer Oxley Walk to the lower falls. Limited camping is available near the falls. The village itself is busy and has all services, including Foodworks and IGA, butchers, a bakery, banks and post office, hardware and medical services. Walcha’s Open Air Gallery featured sculptures and artworks including “All Aboard”, a seat made from blue gum and carved to represent a diesel locomotive.

Our search in the village for information about Captain Thunderbolt found us on a walking tour of the heritage buildings of the town, where we learned that John Oxley was the first European (officially) to visit and that Walcha is New England’s oldest town. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon walking the streets checking out the heritage buildings and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves—however, the only reference to Captain Thunderbolt was the byway, which passes through town, crossing the Oxley Highway. Enjoy the autumn weather, but be prepared for cold snaps. The caravan park in town is a pleasant walk around the river to the shopping precinct. Our stay over Easter was beautifully mild, although the temperature dipped to a chilly 11-degree maximum one day.

TO URALLA

Travelling north along Thunderbolt Way from Walcha, we saw the turnoff to Kentucky, where Thunderbolt was fatally shot. The tiny township of Kentucky, population just exceeding 300, is one of those “off the beaten track” villages that offers warm country hospitality. We arrived for a coffee, and were abducted by Kevin, a local, who proceeded to tell us all about the town, including the time Kentucky Fried Chicken came for a visit to shoot their latest commercial. When we finally managed to escape him to order our scones and coffee, we were shown to the dining area by Deb McGrath, who, along with her husband, had been running the store for about seven years. We had the choice of sitting inside the cosy restaurant or outside in the sun, in their little courtyard. The memorial hall next door, built around 1940, has text and a photographic history of the township, settled as a soldier’s settlement after WWI. Ask Deb – she will open the hall for you to visit. She also told us that she had recently obtained permission from Council for a 24-hour freedom camp in the park opposite the hall.

Around the corner from the café is Dobson’s Distillery, Brewery, Winery, Bar & Restaurant; an ideal place to drop in for a tasting or lunch. Check out their iconic spirits, enjoy one of their craft brewed beers or sit back and dine at Restaurant Pinot, where locally sourced produce is on the menu. This establishment’s aim is to provide a unique experience, so if you cannot get there, check out their website for a teaser!

Kentucky is only about 4km from the New England Highway where a little further north is Thunderbolt Rock, or Split Rock as it was originally known. Captain Thunderbolt is thought to have used this granite outcrop as a lookout to spot approaching stagecoaches. Now, covered in graffiti, the rocks offer a sheltered rest area off the highway for a lunch break, or an overnighter with no facilities.

The charming village of Uralla, positioned at the crossroads of the New England Highway and Thunderbolt Way, is 1 kilometre above sea level, so expect to have some pretty extreme weather conditions here if visiting in winter. It is easy to fill in a day here, or spend several, sharing your time between galleries and museums, discovering the charm of the town on a heritage walk, platypus-spotting along the creek, or just visiting one of the many speciality shops along Bridge Street. Of course, following Thunderbolt Way, you must not forget to visit his grave – and come to your own conclusion as to whether or not he is actually buried there. View his life-size statue, sculpted as part of the Bicentennial project, and visit the memorial plaque for Constable Walker, the local police officer whose brave action bought down this infamous bushranger. McCrossin’s Mill Museum, a three-storey flour mill that was saved from demolition by the local historical society, houses the complete Thunderbolt story.

The Uralla Heritage Walk encompasses over 50 heritage sites, and can be completed in about two hours. The walk takes in the old flourmill circa 1870, the railway gate keeper’s house built in 1882, the Gothic-styled “Gartshore” in Salisbury Street and of course, the post office. A beautifully illustrated brochure on this walk can be obtained from the tourist information centre. Alternatively, the Uralla Creek Walk takes in the Rocky Creek Sanctuary area, following the Tortoise Trail or Mural posts. Speciality shops line the main street of town: book and antique shops, gift and home living, vintage clothing and my favourite, The Sweet Place, which specialises in English sweets, fudge and rock candy – a dentist’s delight!

An 11km drive east of Uralla on Tourist Drive 19 brings you to the delightfully English landscape at Gostwyck Station. Gostwyck is an early squatter’s run settled in around 1832. A chapel was built in the 1920s in memory of Major Clive Collingwood Dangar, who died in 1918 of injuries sustained during WWI. The chapel, while on private property, can be viewed from the outside. During autumn months it is at its finest, highly decorated in red Virginia creeper. Two hundred elm trees line the lane leading up to the chapel; during our visit it “snowed” leaves upon us, creating a wonderland of deciduous floating golden leaves. Nearby Deeargee Woolshed, an unusual octagonal design, can also be viewed from the road—since this is still a working building, access is not permitted. Owners of Gostwyck and Deeargee allow visitors to view the historic precinct and picnics are allowed in the grounds of the chapel, but no facilities are provided. Frederick Ward, AKA Captain Thunderbolt, paid a visit to Gostwyck in October 1863, robbing the shepherd’s hut. Three days later, he was spotted near Split Rock by local troopers, and subsequently shot in the knee. Continuing along this tourist drive, you come across Dangar’s Gorge and Dangar Falls, more of the stunningly beautiful Oxley Wild Rivers National Park.

ON TOWARDS INVERELL

Further along Thunderbolt Way towards Inverell is Mt Yarrowyck Nature Reserve, 25k North West of Uralla. We stopped here for lunch in the picnic area, and decided to follow the 3km return track to view the aboriginal rock art. This significant site is believed to be up to 500 years old, and the easy-grade walk is mostly shaded. Walking quietly through the gums and granite boulders, I was expecting the ghost of Captain Thunderbolt to jump out, challenging us to “Stand and deliver”! The pleasant picnic area has toilets and BBQs available and ample room to turn your rig around.

Take a step back in time and visit the tiny village of Bundarra, where you can check out the Bundarra Courthouse Museum or the Bottle Museum just across the road. Wander the streets and you will see the old Commercial Bank building, the general store built in 1889, and old churches. Thunderbolt had connections with nearby Abington Station; he stole two horses from the police inspector in 1868. In the Lions Park, there is a small, friendly caravan park, where we met a couple that had just purchased a 1970s Viscount caravan, begging to be restored.

24km north of Bundarra is Stanborough, where Thunderbolt Way crosses Howell Road. To the left you can find the deserted town of Howell, or to the right is the historic village of Tingha. Howell, approximately 10k off the highway is a little hard to locate, but if you can find it is well worth the visit. The township was originally the home for 1500 people but now all that survives are some cobbled street, a few rusting water tanks and some overgrown garden shrubs and fruit trees. Back in the 1900s, this thriving village had general stores, butchers, bakers and cafes. When the mine collapsed, most residents moved to Tingha, along with their weatherboard houses. The road to Howell continues on to Copeton Waters.

Tingha, on the other hand, survives and thrives. A visit to this former mining village will be rewarded. The Wing Hing Long Museum consists of a number of stores established in the late 19th century. You can view fittings like the flying fox cash dispenser and stock in trade such as drapery, ironmongery, tobacco and pipes, and groceries - in short, all the trappings of a rural general store. Opened as a museum in 2000, and listed on the State Heritage Register, this journey through time is not to be missed.

A one time resident of Howell and Bundarra, William Baldwin, was the village blacksmith who is known to have fashioned horse shoes for the notorious outlaw. The horseshoes had rivets in the heels, and an extra section of iron could be inserted into the shoe, forming an oval. When Thunderbolt came to town for provisions, trackers were confused by the oval shape of the horse print. One of these shoes is now on display at the Smith’s Mining Museum in Tingha.

INVERELL

Our trip along Thunderbolt Way ended at Inverell, where we visited old family graves at the cemetery, and spent time at the Pioneer Village Museum, which gives an insight to life in the area pre-1900s. In this walk-through village you’ll see schools and churches, an old homestead dating back to 1840, a shearing shed along with machinery displays and an RSL War Museum. Keen photographers will find the Devine Photography Collection interesting. Make sure you find the International AIF Workshop truck, the vintage caravan, a Bren gun carrier and the Blitz Buggy; they are hidden away. Pathways are level, with wheelchair access into most buildings. It is easy to spend several hours here, so bring your lunch and picnic beside the lake.

At the village is the relocated Paddy’s Pub, built in 1874 as a halfway house between Inverell and Bundarra at Stanborough. A young local of the time, Will Monckton lived nearby. Young Will spent about three years ranging with Captain Thunderbolt, and his recollections of incidents at the time only serve to further increase the rumours of where Thunderbolt is actually buried, or whether he escaped and went to Canada.

Inverell is a thriving city, with a population of around 12,000. Acting as a service town for the surrounding agricultural industry, it offers history and heritage, museums and galleries, modern shops, restaurants and services and a fine selection of eateries. The Macintyre River runs through the town, with walkways, fountains and parklands.

Despite various other locations in Northern NSW, and Southern Queensland where Thunderbolt was known to hang out, Thunderbolt Way follows much of the original route of Fred Ward, who roamed the area as a bushranger back in the 1860s from the Hunter Valley to the North West slopes and NSW. Everywhere you look there is a reference to his past hidden somewhere deep in the archives.