The Tingle Factor Box

Rover Finds A Wiseman

 

This week, Rover decided he wanted to investigate somewhere which he knows is very popular with many visitors to Sydney, but which he hadn’t been to in a long time. The place he chose, Wisemans Ferry, is a place which is brimming with history to explore and discover. What’s more, Wisemans Ferry is nestled in amongst breathtaking scenery, so it was right up Rover’s alley and the perfect place to spend a day out and about in the winter sun.

If you would like to visit Wisemans Ferry it is located North of Sydney, between the Hunter Valley and Mangrove Mountain. To get there, you can follow Old Northern Road or Wisemans Ferry Road, or if you prefer to stop by St Albans, and are coming from the North, take St Albans Road. There are two ferry crossings of the Hawkesbury River at Wisemans Ferry, and there is also a small village with a few shops and plenty of open room for a picnic. Roy noticed that many of the shops are open only of a weekend.

Wisemans Ferry is not really a town so much as it is an historic site on the banks of the beautiful Hawkesbury River. The first people to settle the general area began to arrive in the mid 1790s, not long after Sydney was colonised. These first colonists were farmers and they provided Sydney with a significant proportion of the food needed to support the colony. The food was transported using the river, with boats loaded up and then taken along the water to the ocean and eventually to Sydney Harbour itself. Soon enough, this river trade began to establish river ports, and Wisemans Ferry was one of them.

The small port settlement wasn’t known as Wisemans Ferry though. This name commemorates Soloman Wiseman who arrived in Sydney in 1806. Over 10 years later, in 1817, he was given a 200 acre land grant, on the banks of the Hawkesbury River. By 1821 he had established an inn on the site and in 1826 he also built a grand, two story house known then as Cobham Hall. Later though, he renamed the house as The Branch Inn, and it catered to people travelling along the Great North Road from Sydney to Newcastle. The building has been altered since, but much of the original building remains, and you can see the inn in the photo above. At this time, The Great North Road was the main route between the two major settlements, and Soloman Wiseman soon established a punt on the river. He was given a seven year contract for the rights to transport people and various goods across the river, and the settlement was named in honour of not only the man himself, but the punt (or ferry) which he operated.

Rover Finds A Wetlands Wonderland - Pioneer Dairy Wetlands

This week, Rover decided that he would like to spend a day out and about in the beautiful Winter sunshine. He was looking for somewhere where he could enjoy nature in all its glory, but which had an interesting history too. He remembered reading about a wetland area on the Central Coast of NSW which promised both nature and history, so thought it might be just the place.

If you would like to visit the Central Coast Wetlands Pioneer Dairy, it is located near Wyong and Tuggerah on NSW Central Coast. The street address is 1897 South Tacoma Road and to get there, follow the Pacific Highway until you see the turnoff for South Tacoma Road. Follow the road and the Pioneer Dairy will soon appear on the right. The wetlands are only open to visitors on weekends from 10am until 4pm, or arrangement at other times, but they are well worth a visit. When Rover visited, we were almost alone in the beautiful area, and had a wonderful picnic with the birds!

The Pioneer Dairy Wetlands are an amazing and unique site, which combines natural beauty with a fascinating agricultural history. This week, Rover focuses on the history of the dairy itself. The site of the Pioneer Dairy was first granted to Frederick Augustus Hely (principal Superintendent of Convicts in NSW) in 1831 and in 1858 his widow and son, Hovenden, mortgaged a large section of the grant to William Alison. In 1872 the land was formally transferred to Alison who planned to rear cattle on the property. In 1885, after the death of William, Charles Alison (his son) moved to Alison Homestead, which is not far away from the Pioneer Dairy. Charles mortgaged a huge part of the site to the Scottish Widows Fund and Life Assurance Society in 1886, the same year William Chapman moved to Wyong.

By 1897, things weren’t going so well for Charles Alison, and the mortgage was foreclosed on, with the Scottish Widows Fund and Life Assurance Society taking over the Wyong estates. Soon after, William Chapman acquired the land and the Pioneer Dairy as we know it was established. The property was formally transferred to Chapman in 1901. William Chapman and his family established the largest and most successful dairy in the area, and were instrumental in setting up the Wyong Cooperative Dairy Company’s Butter Factory (now the Wyong Milk Factory). The property was in the 1940s taken over by the Hannan family and they operated the largest commercial dairy in the Wyong area until it finally closed in 1986.

Roaming Roy Remembers The War Dead

This week, Roy decided that with ANZAC Day falling yesterday, he would like to visit somewhere which was associated with World War One, or The Great War as it was then known. Almost every town has a memorial to their soldiers, and there are of course major memorials and statues which commemorate soldiers who served, and those who died, but Roy wanted to do something a little different. He remembered coming across a war grave in Noraville recently, and thought he would like to find out more.

If you would like to visit the war grave, it is located in Noraville Cemetery. The cemetery is located in Noraville on the NSW Central Coast and is not far from The Entrance. To get there, follow the Central Coast Highway through Wyrrabalong National Park, towards Noraville. The Cemetery is bounded on one side by The Central Coast Highway, but you enter from Oleander Street. There are plenty of interesting graves to see, including that of Edward Hargraves, but the war grave itself is located in the section to the left of the road as you enter the cemetery.

The fact that soldiers from the First World War have individual graves is something which is, historically, very significant. Before World War One, war dead were buried, en masse, in pits and the First World War was the first where there was a systematic attempt to give permanent, marked graves to soldiers, whether they were of rank or even identified. Even unknown soldiers were given the dignity of an individual, marked grave. The first attempts to make individual, marked graves came from the soldiers themselves who made makeshift crosses and rough inscriptions for the dead who they buried. Then, a British Civil Servant, journalist, businessman and wartime ambulance chief, Sir Fabian Ware began to push for these makeshift cemeteries to be made permanent and properly recorded. In 1917 he founded the Imperial War Graves Commission. After the war it was decided by the Commission, with the assistance of a study group which included Rudyard Kipling, that the cemeteries would be preserved – no bodies were to be repatriated and all ranks would be treated equally.

Not all supported the effort though. There was a great outcry against the ‘no repatriation’ rule, and others scorned the upright slabs of uniform design as unchristian. Others still thought the cemeteries which were being established were simply an attempt to beautify the memories of a war which they saw as unforgivable. However, the idea of the cemeteries was that they neither glorify war, nor suggest it had been a waste of time and life. The commission did not operate just in the Battlefields though. As the grave in Noraville shows, those who died in their homelands of their wounds could also be given a commonwealth war grave.

The grave in Noraville Cemetery is that of Percy Thomas Duncan, who served with the 1^st Australian Light Trench Mortar Battery in the First World War. Duncan was 25 years old when he enlisted in August of 1914 and before the war he was a fisherman. He served in Gallipoli and then in France and his war service record shows that he was wounded three times (though he remained on duty with one of his wounds), and hospitalised due to illness twice. His last, and most serious wounds, a serious head injury, were sustained in 1917 in France and in March of 1918 he was returned to Australia and discharged due to these wounds. He died on the 19^th of September, 1918, never seeing peace.

Rover Finds A Fabulous Factory - Wyong Milk Factory

This week, Roy was looking to have a day out and about, not too far from home, but in an area where he could enjoy great food, great scenery and of course, some history too. I suggested heading up the coast to Wyong and checking out the Wyong Milk Factory. One of Roys friends had visited and told him it was a wonderful place, so he thought it would be perfect.

If you would like to visit the Wyong Milk Factory, it is located in Wyong, not far from Gosford on the NSW Central Coast. The Milk Factory is at 141-155 Alison Road, and is not only easy to find, but has plenty of parking. There is a cafe, a fabulous playground, and interesting shops to visit (including Little Creek Cheese Factory and Luka Chocolate Shop) as well as a gym and boats for hire.

The Wyong Milk Factory dates back over 100 years. Wyong itself was established in 1888, taking advantage of the Sydney to Newcastle railway and it wasn’t long before people were farming in the area. By 1907 there were over 50 local farmers and 56 of them worked together to create a Co-op. They established a butter factory which at the time was a simple structure with a boiler room, engine room, butter working room, cool room, testing room, office and store room. There was no provision for milk – the factory was purely for making butter in these early years. The factory was an important hub of local industry though and employed a number of local people. Over time it gradually evolved, becoming not just a butter making facility, but a complete milk factory, where milk was bottled for market.

Then, in 1921, disaster struck. The entire factory was burned to the ground in less than two hours and the fire was so fierce that it is said that exploding butter could be seen and heard up to 10 kilometres away! That wasn’t the end of the factory though and from the ruins the co-op, now made up of over 200 dairy farmers, rebuilt a bigger, better equipped and more modern milk factory. In 1938  a fodder store was added, allowing the farmers to buy food for their animals at the factory itself and in 1946 the factory was extended, allowing it to process and sell still more milk and butter. In 1953, by which time the factory had turned its focus completely to milk, ceasing production of butter entirely, a bottling machine was added and in 1959 the factory began to use refrigerated tankers to collect the milk from the various farms. The factory finally closed in 1994 but today the site has been restored, rejuvenated and reopened to the public.

Roaming Roy Finds A Scarred Tree - Chittaway Bay Scarred Tree

This week, Roy decided he would like to investigate some Aboriginal heritage. Roy enjoys learning about the history and culture of the Aboriginal peoples, and one of the things which has always fascinated him is scarred trees. He knew about them, but had not had the opportunity to see very many. When he discovered there was one hidden away in a quiet street in Wyong, he had to investigate and share his discovery.

If you would like to visit the scarred tree, it is located in Chittaway Bay, not far from Wyong on the NSW Central Coast. The tree is actually opposite the Chittaway Bay Motel. To get there, follow Wyong Road until you reach Chittaway Road. Turn into Chittaway Road and follow the road until you see Burrugah Road (which will be on your left, just past the motel). The scarred tree is no longer a live tree, and is on the banks of the Wyong Creek.

Scarred trees are one of the more common Aboriginal artefacts, yet also one of the least understood. They are trees which bear a scar due to damage to the plant tissue of a trunk or branch. This damage prevents growth on the scarred area, which leaves an exposed area of what is called sapwood and because the bark has been removed this will eventually dry out and die, leaving behind the scars we recognise today. In the case of Aboriginal scarred trees, the scars have been created through deliberate removal of bark or wood from the tree. The scar was not necessarily deliberately made, often the wood or bark was removed to be used in building a variety of things, from shelters to containers to canoes!

Once, there were huge numbers of scarred trees in the Australian landscape. Of course, some of the scars were naturally made, but many were the result of Aboriginal activity as bark was an important material for the Aboriginal peoples. Today though, Aboriginal scarred trees are increasingly rare. Many have died and rotted away while others have been removed in land clearances, and are now replaced with homes and other buildings. Others still have been obscured by overgrowth – the scar is still there, but the tree has obscured it with new growth. Many scarred trees are also difficult to visit, or remain unknown, hidden deep in the bush or away from easy access. The tree at Chittaway Bay is therefore very important, being an easily accessible example of important Aboriginal culture.

Roaming Roy Is All Fired Up - Grass Trees

This week, some of the children Roy works with have been doing fire drills, ready for the fire season which will arrive in Australia as Summers warmer temperatures arrive. Clearly, we aren’t there yet, but it’s important to prepare because fires are part of life in Australia. Some of the children are terrified of the idea of fires, and when Roy explained that some plants actually need fire to make them grow, they found this idea intriguing, and also slightly reassuring. Fires really were necessary, and somehow a little less scary because of that. One plant which relies on fires are the Australian Grass Trees.

The grass trees in the photos here were found near Woy Woy, where Roy was heading to enjoy fish and chips at the Fishermans Co-op. You can find grass trees all around Sydney though, and of course in other areas of NSW and Australia in general. In fact, there are lots of grass trees just near where Roy lives. What made these ones particularly interesting was the different ages and stages of growth they displayed.

Grass Trees are unique Australian plants and a central part of many of Australia’s landscapes. They are also an important part of our culture, both pre and post European settlement. They were an important resource for Aboriginal Australians, providing a variety of food sources including succulent roots, edible grubs, seeds which could be ground to make flour and nectar for sweetening water. The nectar could even be fermented! The plant was also used in making weapons with the flower stalk being used for spears. It even provided its own form of ‘superglue’ in a resin which was collected from the bottom of the trunk. The resin could be melted and used as glue and when it cooled it become very hard. So valued was this resin that it was actually traded among the tribes. The resin was also used by early European settlers, not only as glue, but in making soap, polish and varnishes. It was even used in Churches as a type of incense with the hard resin being burned to produce a pleasant fragrance! For many years the tree was known by the colloquial name ‘blackboy’ as early settlers saw a resemblance between the trees and an Aboriginal boy holding a spear. Today this name has fallen out of favour and is considered offensive – it belongs to history.

The trees are extremely hardy and frequently survive wild fires. They are also very slow growing, growing only about 1 centimetre a year! The grand, large specimens which are so prized and iconic can be over 100 years old and often their trunks have survived many fires already. Fire helps to rejuvenate grass trees, blackening the trunk and burning away the leaves. New leaves then sprout from this blackened trunk. Fire can also stimulate the plant to flower, and many will flower in the wild within a year of a fire moving through. They do also flower when they are happy or particularly stressed though, and if you have a grass tree in the garden, setting fire to it in order to convince it to flower is risky and a bit extreme!  

Roaming Roy Has A Whale Of A Time - Whale Watching

This week, Roy wanted to spend some time in the great outdoors admiring the amazing things you can see in and around Australia. He also noted that earlier this week the Tingle Factor Items were two examples of scrimshaw, and decided he would like to see some whales in a more lively state. He thought whale watching might be a perfect way to while away his day, so set out for one of his favourite vantage points.

If you would like to enjoy whale watching, there are plenty of vantage points on land from which you can often spot a whale swimming by. Roy took these photos at Captain Cook Lookout in Copacabana on the Central Coast of NSW, not too far from Gosford. There are plenty of other locations which are popular with whale watchers though, and several sites which can even give you a hint of where whales have been sighted during the last few hours.

Watching whales in their ‘natural environment’, the ocean, is a popular pastime, not just in Australia, but also in other countries where whales migrate up and down the coast. The first officially organised whale watching tour was organised in 1950 by Cabrillo National Monument in San Diego. Five years later, in 1955, a boat trip which allowed customers to see whales from the sea and ‘closer up’ attracted 10,000 paying visitors in its first year. The trade really began to boom in the 1980s though and since then whale watching has been established as a tourism industry in many countries and is even an important part of the economy of some developing countries who rely on whale watchers for revenue.

In Australia, and indeed in many other whale watching countries, some of the most popular and famous whale watching sites were once the centre of a very different whale based trade – whaling. Where we today enjoy seeing whales migrating along the coast, especially where they are easily visible from the coastline itself, there was once a thriving trade in hunting the enormous mammals. In fact many older readers would not remember seeing whales passing up and down the coast when they were younger, as whales were in such low numbers. Thankfully their numbers have increased since those times. Some of the most famous historic centres of the whaling trade have actually reinvented themselves as whale watching centres. Eden is considered to be Australia’s premier whale watching location, yet its history is steeped in whaling and similarly New England in America, once the centre of a thriving whaling industry, attracts thousands of tourists to view the magnificent mammals every year.

Roaming Roy Rocks - Edogawa Japanese Gardens Rock Garden

A few weeks ago, Roy enjoyed a visit to the beautiful Edogawa Japanese Gardens in East Gosford, and a delicious meal at the Caroline Bay Brasserie. Roy loves visiting gardens and while he was there he was intrigued by the rock garden. Roy had heard about rock gardens where the white pebbles are raked into patterns, but he had not seen one and was fascinated by the intricate patterns. He wanted to know more!

If you would like to visit the Edogawa Japanese Gardens in Gosford, they are located on the shore of Caroline Bay in East Gosford. They are at 36 Webb Street, and there is plenty of parking available in Webb Street and George Street. The gardens are a pleasant walk, and there is a lovely restaurant, shop and even the Regional Gallery to see.

Japanese rock gardens are often called Zen gardens, because they are associated with Zen Temples, which often featured them. Another name for the garden style is the dry landscape garden as these gardens represent a landscape through rocks and carefully raked pebbles. Rock gardens date back to at least the Heian period, about 1300 years ago. In fact, rock gardens were actually described in Sakuteiki, the oldest manual of garden design in Japan, written in the 11th century.

Rock gardens are very beautiful, and a huge amount of thought and planning goes into their creation. One of the most important elements is the large rocks which often represent mountains, islands or other landscape features. Choosing the right rocks and placing them properly in the landscape of the rock garden is one of the most important tasks in making a rock garden. Then sand or, more commonly gravel or pebbles are spread across the garden surface and raked into patterns which represent water ripples and waves. These are another very important element of the rock garden, requiring raking and care to keep the patterns in place. Some rock gardens also feature plants and moss to represent other landscape features, but the Edogawa garden is simple, with just the landscape rocks and pebble patterns.

Roaming Roy Goes Gardening Part 2 - Edogawa/Gosford Japanese Garden Cafe

Last week, Roy spent some time visiting the Edogawa Japanese Gardens in Gosford (to find out about his visit click here). He loved the tranquil gardens, the beautiful Koi fish and the art gallery next door and decided it was a perfect place to enjoy a meal. The restaurant was lovely and he really enjoyed sitting out in the garden enjoying the winter sun. So this week, Roy takes you eating out!

If you would like to visit the restaurant, gallery and gardens, they are in East Gosford, on the shore of Caroline Bay. The street address is 36 Webb Street, and there is plenty of parking available in Webb Street and George Street. The restaurant is the Caroline Bay Brasserie and is open from 9am until 4pm. There is also a cafe for light snacks.

The Caroline Bay Brasserie is part of the Edogawa Japanese garden complex. The garden, set out in the Shoyu (wandering) style is a lovely place to have a stroll before, and/or after a delicious meal. There are good paths meandering through the garden, and the whole area is quite level, so it is the perfect place to take elderly people for a special day out. If you are taking young children though, make sure to supervise them near the lake and pond as the water features are not fenced. If you feel like a bit more culture, the complex also contains the Gosford Regional Gallery, which has wonderful, changing exhibitions.

After building up an appetite in the gardens and galleries, the Caroline Bay Brasserie is the perfect place to enjoy breakfast or lunch. They are open seven days a week and offer full meals, but also morning or afternoon tea snacks. Being close to the coast, there is plenty of seafood to choose from on the menu, and Roy enjoyed salt and pepper squid and prawns while his Grandma enjoyed coconut prawns. There are also lovely salads available, delicious soups and meals featuring chicken and beef, including the ever popular burgers.

Roaming Roy Goes Gardening - Edogawa/Gosford Japanese Garden

This week, Roy decided that he wanted to enjoy the last of the Autumn weather by visiting a garden. Roy loves gardens, and when he discovered that there was a well known garden in Gosford which he had not visited, decided it was the perfect time to rectify this. Not only was the garden beautiful, but there was a wonderful restaurant where Roy, Roy's Grandmother and I enjoyed lunch. Roy will tell you about the restaurant next week.

If you would like to visit the Edogawa Japanese Gardens in Gosford, they are located on the shore of Caroline Bay in East Gosford. They are at 36 Webb Street, and there is plenty of parking available in Webb Street and George Street. The gardens are a pleasant walk, and there is a lovely restaurant, shop and even the Regional Gallery to see.

The Japanese Gardens in Gosford are called the Gosford/Edogawa Japanese Gardens and were a gift from Gosford's sister city, Edogawa, to the people of Gosford. The gardens were opened in 1994 and since then they have grown and blossomed. There is a Koi pond, tea house, Koi pavilion, raked rock garden and meandering paths winding between the plants and water features. If you are visiting with children though, make sure you supervise them closely as the ponds are not fenced.

The garden is designed in the Shoyu, or wandering style, so that the paths wind gently and comfortably. Edogawa garden is also designed in the Heian period style, a style which dates to 800 ad. It was about this period that the nobility of Japan began to build palaces and lay out gardens in the Kyoto area, and this style of garden is the oldest in Japan. There was, at this time, similarities between the gardens of China and Japan, with Chinese gardens being very influential in the design of Japanese gardens. The purpose of the design was to have lake, plantings, rocks, pavilions and some sort of hut feature visible in one landscape, as opposed to having specific garden 'rooms'. This design principle is very evident at the Edogawa garden, where there are beautiful vistas including buildings, plants, paths and water features.