Wiluna

Carnegie Station to Wiluna We have picked out a number of quirky things for the day: • We saw an old car positioned on a mound by the roadside with a sign painted on it "60 km to Carnegie Station" • The spinfex plains have finished. This is now cattle country with Mitchell grass. And "flies"to prove it. • Lots of pleasant low ranges cross the road creating a great roller coaster ride with lots of good thick tree cover in the range areas. (Princess and Wellington Ranges). • Purple mulla mulla blooming abound with yellow cassia bushes and blue solenaceas. We saw many flocks (small by Queensland standards), of budgies and they like cassia bushes. There are also quite a few light grey swift flyers with dark edges in groups of 2s, 4s etc. One group of 4 were flying with a small flock of budgies. At first we thought they were chasing them, but both birds are very good flyers - agile, fast and darting. I think they enjoy flying together and perhaps there is safety in numbers too. We noticed lots of Whistling Kites and some pairs of falcons. Later I think we came to the conclusion the grey birds were cuckoo shrikes..that was the closest match we could find in Slater. • We were travelling at 90kph! the road was so good, • Morning tea at Wongawol Creek - a lovely spot in the Princess Ranges. • Who was William Lambert? A Mountain was named after him (well a tall hill!) o Pollie? o Grazier? o Cricketer? o Must check this up on Google. • We arrived Wiluna around lunchtime, fueled up & looked over town. It's a dying town with a number of closed shop fronts. Only about three were open, a general store and fuel stop, the pub and café that sells through a front window to patrons who eat at outdoor tables on the concrete area in front. Quite a number of houses are in various stages of repair. A high Aboriginal population appears to wander round aimlessly. We were told the local Aboriginals were restless as two big funerals had taken place in the previous week. • We had lunch at the pub which was rather dirty and rundown when we visited. The local Aboriginal community has sensibly imposed a semi closed policy on the purchase of alcohol. You could only buy full strength beer and wine after 5pm, unless you were a non-Aboriginal visitor and got an authorization from the police. We had a hamburger for lunch there and a coke. We chose not to stay at the caravan park attached to the pub and instead we drove back out to the other caravan park, about 12 km out of town: "Wiluna Laager". It was a failed former vineyard with a mandarin orchard. The vines had been ripped out after a huge investment in them about 10 years ago. Costs were too high. Good camp kitchen, well run for the mining employees who lived there in cabins. Facilities were clean and adequate. We spent the afternoon doing our washing in the laundry. • Wiluna does have a magnificent Aboriginal art gallery managed by the local council at the back of the council chambers. Meg bought a wonderful small painting by a young woman from a community about 30 km out near Lake Warburton. Would recommend all visitors to go and see it and buy a painting. • Tomorrow we start on the Canning Stock Route.

William Lambert Meg has unearthed many folks named William Lambert • English cricketer early 1800s • Judge in VDL in mid 1800s • Penman who wrote out the American Bill of Rights, early 1800s • NSW politician, 1920s, labor Party member for West Sydney • 2 convicts sent out to WA in 1852 and 1853 respectively • Gravedigger in Surrey (England) who raped several school girls in the churchyard. None of these seem to fit for a hill in WA!!