Located in Beresfield, New South Wales, Mortels Sheepskin Factory not only sells you their products, but teaches how they are made and the history of sheepskin in Australia. Unfortunately shut during our visit, we were unable to view the factory, but we did tour the museum and see the giant Ugg boots.
Mortels Sheepskin Factory Museum
The museum is free to enter, so while there go in for a look. Although it’s small, the displays and information boards explain the history of sheepskin in Australia. Exhibits from wool presses to World War One soldier’s jackets make it worth the visit.
Sheepskin Jacket From World War One
Inside the Museum
Inside the Museum
Giant Ugg Boots
Entering Thornton, you can’t miss the giant Ugg boots. Originally painted as regular sheepskin, but now upgraded with aboriginal artwork, they look amazing.
If you are into seeing all of the “big” things in Australia, this is a must see.
The Big Ugg Boots
The Big Ugg Boots
Shop and Café
Of course, a visit here must include a visit to the shop, so that you can sample and maybe buy some of the excellent items for sale. Everything sheepskin, from Ugg boots and coats, car seats covers and blankets.
There’s also a café so when you need to recharge after learning all about sheepskin there’s one on hand.
To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.
A beautiful place with views over Gunnedah, Pensioners Hill Lookout also has a sculpture park, which makes an even more interesting place to visit. The walkway through the park is named after Ailsa Iceton, a nurse who performed many charitable works in Gunnedah. During the Great Depression, she would bring meals to the residents of Pensioners Hill.
The park’s brick wall is constructed from bricks recovered from the demolition of a chimney used for a nearby mine, thereby incorporating its heritage value into the new park. A plaque near the entrance gate details the history of the chimney.
Alisa Iceton Walkway Information Board
Pensioners Hill Reserve Entrance Plaque
Kamilaroi Peoples
On entering the park, the first display on your right is a series of carved trees. These are a remembrance of the Kamilaroi People and their ancestral animals totemic beings. The Kamilaroi people’s lands extend from New South Wales to southern Queensland. They form one of the four largest Indigenous nations in Australia.
Carved Trees as a Remembrance of the Kamilaroi Peoples and their Ancestral Animals Totemic Beings
Pensioners Hill Lookout and Heritage Sculpture Park
The park contains four sculptures by Carl Merten and Joan Relke, with each depicting the heritage of the Gunneda area. The sculptures show:
The Red Chief, a Kamilaroi man who lived in the area in the 18th century. He had a reputation as a warrior and wise leader of the Gunn-e-darr tribe.
The Pioneer Woman, early settlers facing harsh environments, isolation and loneliness.
Agriculture representing the rich grazing lands and crops across the Liverpool Plains.
The Coal Miner labouring underground.
Carved on the back of each sculpture is the Great Rainbow Serpent of Aboriginal mythology, tying them all together.
Sculptures on Pensioners Hill
Snake Sculpture
The Rainbow Serpent Sculpture
Coal Miner Sculpture
The Rainbow Serpent Sculpture
Pioneer Woman Sculpture
The Red Chief Sculpture
Agriculture Sculpture
Mining Heritage
Behind the rock sculptures is a display of three mine skips on rail tracks. This display sponsored by the CFMEU (the mine workers’ Union) pays tribute to the coal miners of the district. It not only commemorates the workers, but those who did not make it home, after working in the dangerous mine conditions.
These skips add to the mining heritage reflected in the entrance wall, which shows the importance of the industry in the districts past.
Mine Cars
Places to Relax
Placed throughout the park are beautifully carved seats, where you can sit and enjoy the park. If you want to relax under cover, a rotunda at the top of the hill is a great place to get out of the weather.
Rotunda on Pensioners Hill
Seat With Carved Eagle Wings
The View
The viewing platform gives a great view of Gunnedah. The silos and red roofed building in the photo is where the Dorothea Mackellar silo art sits. While there, look at the town from inside the rotunda, because it can be framed nicely by the entrance.
View of Gunnedah From Pensioners Hill
View of Gunnedah Through the Rotunda
What Did We Think
If you are in Gunnedah, this is a great place to visit, because not only do you get a great view, but see great sculptures at the same time. It was nice to see the heritage of the districts tied together using aboriginal culture with the Great Rainbow Serpent.
To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.
Not far from the Gunnedah Water Tower Museum and located in a small park the Dorothea Mackellar Memorial Statue acknowledges this famous Australian Poet’s connection to the Gunnedah district.
Dorothea is shown as a young woman sitting side-saddle on her horse, and gazing into the distance.
Dorothea Mackellar
Known for her poem My Country, perhaps the best known Australian poem, Dorothea Mackellar, OBE (1885 – 1968) was an Australian poet and fiction writer.
The Mackellar family owned several properties in the Gunnedah area, including “Kurrumbede” and “The Rampadells” on the Blue Vale Road near Gunnedah. Dorothea Mackellar, found the inspiration for My Country on her brother’s property Kurrembede where she witnessed the breaking of a severe drought.
The inscription on the statue contains lines from the poem My Country, possibly Australia’s most famous poem.
” I LOVE A SUNBURNT COUNTRY A LAND OF SWEEPING PLAINS OF RAGGED MOUNTAIN RANGES OF DROUGHTS AND FLOODING RAINS… “
The Dorothea Mackellar Memorial in GunnedahDorothea Mackellar Sitting Side Saddle on Her HorseRear of the statue
Other Dorothea Mackellar Sites in Gunnedah
Depicted on the historic Gunnedah Maize Mill is a fantastic piece of silo art of Dorothea Mackellar. An impressive sight, because it stands over 20m tall.
To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.
