16/17 April, Peterborough (SA) overnighter

Peterborough (SA) overnighter
 
Day 1
 
It was meant to be a trip for paul, my mate Graeme that came along to the recent SA get together at Strathalbyn and myself.
Graeme manages a farm about 1 ½ hours SE of Adelaide, he has a fill in arranged for a few days but they pulled out at the last minute and left him stuck at home looking after sheep during lambing.
Tuesday morning about 6:40 paul arrived at my place, by 6:45 we were on the road headed for the Booleroo Steam and Traction Preservation Society in Booleroo Centre.



We headed out of town on the M2 then the Port Wakefield Road (A1) until Two Wells, from there we headed a bit further inland through Mallala, skirted the Edge of Balakalava then onto Blyth for a quick stretch and relief break.

Back on the road again we headed for Brinkworth, then onto Yacka, Georgetown, Gladstone and Laura before morning tea and coffee in the small village of Stone Hut

https://www.facebook.com/Stone-Hut-Bakery-147217135692993/








From Stone Hut it was a short ride up through Willmington and Murraytown along some picturesque roads in the Southern Flinders Ranges to Booleroo Centre and our first museum of the trip, the Booleroo Steam and Traction Preservation Society. The BSTPS isn’t a museum open to the public daily but volunteers will open for you so long as you have pre-booked, entry is a $10 donation and the tour takes anywhere between 1 ½ to 2 ½ hours.

The BSTPS has always held some sentimental significance for me as one of my Mum’s uncles was an avid collector of old Steam and Traction equipment and I knew several of his pieces had been donated and are a part of the exhibition.



https://www.booleroosteamandtraction.org.au/

We arrived 5 minutes before our booked in time, 20 minutes later I made a call to find out he had forgotten us, all good in the end, the volunteer Ian McCullum arrived by 11:10 and was soon showing us through.





I had told Ian of my family connection with some of the exhibits so early into the tour he took us over to the workshop where one of my mum’s uncles former vehicles is in a part stage of restoration, it is a Caldwell 4WD truck, the earliest 4wd ever built with front and rear wheel the same size. (I can’t remember if he said early 1900’s or late 1800’s) I remember seeing this on the farm as a youngster, funnily I remember the wheels being huge, well over my head, now they are under shoulder height







From the workshop we went back into the 2^nd ½ of the main pavilion, onto 3 more smaller sheds and finally the blacksmith’s shop



From Booleroo we headed for Peterborough and the “Steam Town” museum in the former South Australian Railways workshops. We had to head back South to Jamestown before heading North East again so we could avoid about 70 or80km of dirt roads.

Peterborough was the rail crossroads of Australia and the only place in the Southern Hemisphere where Narrow, Standard and Broad gauges met in the one location, this photo of paul and my feet is showing all 3 gauges on the turntable that let the trains enter the roundhouse.



Wee paid for both the day tour and the night time “sound and light” show, $30 all up and included a complimentary taxi ride to and from our pub.

http://www.steamtown.com.au/

Individual prices are $17.50 for the guided day tour and $20 for the sound and light show
Although day tours are run on the hour every hour you can join at any stage during the tour and continue on until you end up where you started (we just missed the start and got that at the end)
























After the tour we rode to the Peterborough Hotel, a old 2 story pub that is one of 2 left open from the hey days when the town boasted 7 pubs, even up until a year or 2 ago there was still 4 open but 2 were lost to the town in a very short time.

https://www.facebook.com/PeterboroughHotel/?rf=111572715569695

We were booked into a twin pub room, $60 with plenty of space, a very comfy bed, a wardrobe, fan and short walk to either of the bathrooms. There is also a Lounge/Kitchenette for house guests to use.
The pub is bike friendly, bikes were locked up in the back yard and the owner has been trying to get development approval for a dedicated bike shed out back. He is an avid adventure bike/dirt bike rider and a lot of the guests they stay are on larger trail bikes or adventure bikes.
The pub closed it kitchen some time back but leased it and a room onto the street for a café to be run from. As well as supply dine in and takeaway from the café, it also supplies pub meals served in either the front bar or dining room. A good honest feed and a few ales and Paul and I were waiting out on the veranda for our taxi to take us back to Steam Town.
A bit after 7:00 our taxi arrived, from there we detoured past the caravan park to pick up more (from another group on bikes from NSW) for the show.









After the sound and light show a taxi dropped us back to the pub where we had a couple more cold frothies before retiring for the night.
 
To be continued ……………………………

Peterborough (SA) overnighter 


Day 2

The museum we were heading to in town didn't open until 9:00am so we weren't in a hurry.

Up, showered dressed and ready to get the bikes out of the pub's back yard by about 8:30, we decided to move the bikes around the front of the pub (main shopping street/highway) to load and have breakfast at the cafe. 
Paul said "I'm not going to worry about my helmet, no one will be around this time of the day" I said "I'm wearing mine, it'd be just my luck for the local copper to turn up while I was moving the bike"

Luckily Paul wore his too, I rode out the side gate, about 20-30m up the road to a T junction just as the local copper drove pat me, did a U turn and pulled up at the cafe right where we had planned to park for his breakfast

A bloody nice egg & bacon sanga + coffee, a chat and a laugh with the cop (who rides) and we headed off to the Peterborough Motorcycle and Antique Museum

http://www.pbmcm.com/

$7 entry to the former church which is now the residence of the owners and houses their collection of mostly obscure and unusual European Motorcycles and other antiques.



























One of particullar interest, this bike painted for Slade guitarist Dave Hill, the design was decribed by the owner as "Acid Drop"








We left Peterborough and had a quick stop off in another former rail town, Terowie where the gauges used to change heading North - South and everything had to be transferred from one train to another.







From there we headed South, often riding through dust, a quick stop at the Wind Farm monument at Mt Bryan .....









.................... and onto lunch at Tarlee before continuing on to home

Thanks for the report Chook. Nice reading and it looks like you had some interesting bikes and machinery to take in. 

Great report Chook ...........I can't believe it was over a week ago !

paul wrote:Great report Chook ...........I can't believe it was over a week ago

I would have had it up a lot sooner but was having troubles with the image links