First Fleet Memorial Gardens Wallabadah

We hadn’t intended to stop in Wallabadah, but on seeing the sign for the First Fleet Memorial Gardens, we decided to. This is the great thing about driving with no fixed appointments, because you can stop at any time and see something interesting.

Another interesting thing to discover is the amazing variety of place names in Australia. Many are unique, as they are based on the local aboriginal language. In this case, Wallabadah means stone in the Kamilaroi language.

The First Fleet Memorial Garden is a memorial to the First Fleet immigrants, by stonemason, Ray Collins. Carved on tablets along the garden pathways are 1,520 names of all those who came out to Australia on the eleven ships in 1788. The stories of those who arrived on the ships, are told throughout the garden.

Wandering through the gardens, you find the names grouped by the ship they arrived on, along with a history of the ship. This is great, as you do not just find a plain list of names, but some individual history, which adds interest.

A picnic area with a sunshade fashioned to look like a sailing ship is also in the gardens. This continues the theme of the First Fleet even further.

A car park off the highway offers a safe place to stop, while also providing toilet facilities. This was a fun, interesting, and unexpected place to find on our trip.

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