Located on the New South Wales Central Coast, Wyong is around an hour’s drive north of Sydney, or an hour’s drive south from Newcastle. We visited to see the historic building and street art as well as visiting Alison Homestead on the outskirts of town.
Our first stop was the Chapman Building, where Glee Coffee have a café where you can grab a morning coffee. Opposite the café, the latest artwork was being installed. Unfortunately, these are taken down after a few months, but replaced a year later by the council.
At Alison Road, a map of the heritage walk has been installed. This is great in case you haven’t looked up the locations of what to see before-hand. Just across the road from the sign is Tightrope Lane, with it’s footpath painted as a tightrope.
We walked around the centre of town having a look at the old courthouse, post office and other buildings before heading off to the Alison Homestead. Another nearby attraction worth seeing is the old Milk Factory which now has a tavern, chocolate and candle making and arts and crafts.
Glee Coffee in the Chapman BuildingHeritage Sign Hely StreetStreet Art Hely St 2022Heritage Walking MapHeritage Walking SignStreet Art in Tightrope LaneStreet Art in Tightrope LaneWar MemorialOld Court HouseTurton’s CornerAutumn Leaves on Hely StreetThe Art House
Following on from her work in Newcastle, Rebecca Murray has transformed the look of Beaumont Street Hamilton (New South Wales, Australia). Telephone pillars are now the Beaumont Street Pillar People, each distinct and reflecting the shops they sit outside of.
We discovered them on a Sunday morning walk down the street while getting a coffee. Well known for its eateries, the addition of street art adds to the fun of going to Beaumont Street.
Smaller electrical boxes haven’t been forgotten either, because each is transformed to a mouse sized building. It was fun to see what the next one would be painted as.
Decorating the pavement along Beaumont Street mosaics located outside many businesses add even more colour. Unfortunately, foot-traffic has damaged some of them over the years, but many are still in good condition. We are not sure which artist did the mosaics and planted boxes, but they are colourful and great to see.
While walking around, don’t forget to look up because there are some great old buildings there too. We enjoyed our Sunday morning walk here, great coffee and food, along with the great artwork.
Mosaic outside Scots KirkBeaumont Street MosaicDecorated Planter Box
To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.
Located on the north west slopes of New South Wales, Gunnedah has a long history of habitation by the Kamilaroi people. The town’s name means Place of White Stones in the Kamilaroi language. Within 45 years
Colonial settlers arrived in the area in 1833, taking advantage of the Patrick Plain fertile soil to farm sheep.
Getting There
Gunnedah was our second overnight stop on our road trip. Only a 90 minute drive from Dubbo, the road was in good condition the whole way. Direct from Sydney, it’s a five hour drive, but there are plenty of interesting stops along the way, the most notable of which is Coonabarabran.
Attractions
Gunnedah Town Centre
The Gunnedah town centre is full of old historic buildings, making a walk though town interesting. While there, look at the buildings’ facades as they are often nicely decorated and show the year the building was built. Over time many buildings have changed owners but the original builder is often still displayed on the facade.
Old Bank ChambersOld Shop Fronts Kamilaroi HighwayGunnedah Town HallOld Acropolis Café Building Kamilaroi Highway
Miners’ Memorial
In the centre of town near Wolseley Park a statue pays tribute to the coal miners who brought wealth to the town. Many miners failed to return home because of the dangerous work and this is a memorial to them.
Miners’ Memorial Wolseley Park
Red Chief Memorial
Located in the town centre, adjacent to the NSW Government Offices building in Abbott Street this is first memorial erected in honour of an Aboriginal historical identity.
Buried probably in late 1700`s. Cumbo Gunnerah was the legendary warrior and wise leader of the Gunn-e-darr people of the Kamilaroi tribe. He was buried, it is thought, in the late 1700’s in a manner befitting an Aboriginal man of great importance, that is in a sitting position, backed by a tree carved with totemic designs in his honour.
Red Chief Memorial
Silo Art
A beautiful piece of silo art now brightens one of Gunnedah’s old silos. Featuring Dorothea Mackellar and lines from My Country, it adds to the Mackellar presence in town. For our blog on the silo, click here.
Gunnedah Maize Mill Silo Depicting Dorothea Mackellar and Lines From My Country
Gunnedah Water Tank Museum
The Water Tank Museum contains artefacts from Gunnedah’s past, as well as an amazing mural on the outside, dedicated to the Vietnam War. To see our full blog and more photos click here.
Water Tower mural: Soldiers of 7RAR waiting to be picked up by Huey Helicopters by Jenny McCracken
Dorothea Mackellar Memorial Statue
In addition to the Silo art honouring Dorothea Mackellar, a statue of the poet riding a horse can be found near the Water Tower Museum. Our full blog and photos can be found here.
Dorothea Mackellar Memorial Statue
Pensioners Hill Lookout and Sculptures
This beautiful sculpture-filled park has great views over town, making it a must visit when you visit. An easy walk from the car park past the sculptures rewards you with magnificent views. Our blog and photos of all the sculptures is here.
Aboriginal Man Sculpture
Gunnedah Rural Museum
This is a fantastic place to visit especially for those interested in rural life in Australia from the late 1800s to late 1900s. We particularly liked the tractor and car collection, as they were extensive and in good condition. The museum also has a model railway out the front for rail enthusiasts. We really enjoyed this laid back huge museum. The full blog of our visit is here.
