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Post Info TOPIC: Along the old Grafton road
The dog lady


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Along the old Grafton road
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Spent 2 days traveling 130km and it's fantastic. When I lived in Grafton I didn't even know it was there!

 

20130424 Old Grafton Road (32).jpg



-- Edited by The dog lady on Monday 29th of July 2013 10:17:19 PM

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Cheers, Marianna. 

The more I learn about people, the more I like my dogs (Mark Twain)
Poppy sore eye


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Wow, where the heck is this, although maybe not for the motorhome, its great the way you appreciate places you never new, makes you think what else your missing.



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The dog lady


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It's along the old Glenn Innes to Grafton road in northern NSW. An absolutely spectacular drive of approx. 130km which took me 2 days!  Definitely no motor home from the Glenn Innes end, but you could get some of the way if you start from the Grafton end.  You turn off the Gwydr Hwy at Waterview Hieghts and head for Dalmorton (a ghost town now).  That stretch is not bad and should be accessible to most. Well worth the drive.



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Cheers, Marianna. 

The more I learn about people, the more I like my dogs (Mark Twain)
The dog lady


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Sheba wrote:

Thanks for that Marianne.  I was going to ask where you are in your new Avatar.  Now you've let us know.

Cheers,

Sheba.

 Actually Sheba, the photo of my van in the tunnel is at Boolboonda tunnel.  The one on Old Grafton Road is much shortersmile



-- Edited by The dog lady on Tuesday 30th of July 2013 10:05:57 PM

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Cheers, Marianna. 

The more I learn about people, the more I like my dogs (Mark Twain)
Beth54


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Wow from me too! That would be so interesting. Thanks for posting.



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Beth, now living on the Redcliffe Peninsula, SEQ.

 

 
Sheba


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Thanks for that Marianne.  I was going to ask where you are in your new Avatar.  Now you've let us know.

Cheers,

Sheba.



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Sheba


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Sorry about that .  Thanks for putting me right.

Cheers,

Sheba.



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chopit


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We travelled that road many moons ago on a motorcycle/sidecar outfit.
Loved it then. Bet it hasn't changed a bit.
Camped one night with a couple in an old Citroen 2CV.
( Their car engine was smaller than out outfits )
Thanks for freshening up the memories.

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GypsyBob


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Lovely piccy TDL, it makes me want to go there. whereis.com reckoned I could cover the required 4050.km in 41hrs 13mins but it doesn't understand the way I drive !!!

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The dog lady


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I spent 17 days covering 2100km from Bundy to Adelaide earlier this year, and I could have quite easily made it 3 months but promises to keep etc.  Whereis, Google maps and all those programs seem to assume that it's all about getting to the destination, but I think most of us greys know that it's the journey that countssmile



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Cheers, Marianna. 

The more I learn about people, the more I like my dogs (Mark Twain)
Dunmowin


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The dog lady wrote:

It's along the old Glenn Innes to Grafton road in northern NSW. An absolutely spectacular drive of approx. 130km which took me 2 days!  Definitely no motor home from the Glenn Innes end, but you could get some of the way if you start from the Grafton end.  You turn off the Gwydr Hwy at Waterview Hieghts and head for Dalmorton (a ghost town now).  That stretch is not bad and should be accessible to most. Well worth the drive.

 The myth is that the tunnel was dug by convicts  and is know as the convict tunnel, however no convict labour was used in its construction.

 



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DUNMOWIN is no longer on the road and still DUNMOWIN!  
Radar


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Hi All

In the early 90,s we did a bit of 4WD tour leading and in my hunt for information regarding this tunnel I read an interesting book by Mr.Ian Terry, Engineer in the WW.1 who come to Australia in the early 1920,s first settle Perth and then Grafton starting a transport business running up to Glen Innes. It was the first private busy using a motorized truck. A truck from the Albion truck manufacturer where he worked and learnt his trade before the war.  

Interesting story was how he would load the Albion truck up with produce for the return trip from the New England area to the then busy port of Grafton for shipping to England. Now the loads more often then not would be higher then the tunnel would allow him to drive though so the need to unload some to get though the tunnel and then unload more the other side and return to collect and reload again as this was the only road down the to the coast. there is a tree up near Dalmonton where on one of his trips a major mechanical problem arose and he used this tree to do repairs.

I did find the tree after some time spent looking, his writing was very clear on where it was along with his accounts of the many trips he did, my only regret is I learnt about him shortly before his death and not knowing about him as he lived very close to me on the Central Coast of NSW and myself being a transport driver. I am sure we would of spent a lot of hours together talking.

Yes it was built by contractors with reportedly cheap labour, the date escapes me at the time of writing this and it is a great drive with some good camping spots, one being junction of the Mann River.

Dog Lady thank you for reminding me of this great area. 



-- Edited by Radar on Monday 12th of August 2013 09:50:16 PM



-- Edited by Radar on Monday 12th of August 2013 09:51:24 PM

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The dog lady


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there's a fair bit of information about the road at Dalmorton, where the sign refers to "contractors" and "poorly paid labour" building the road and tunnels. Certainly nothing about convicts. The tunnel was created in 1866, see the attached pic

 

20130424 Old Grafton Road (39a).jpg20130424 Old Grafton Road (39b).jpg



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Cheers, Marianna. 

The more I learn about people, the more I like my dogs (Mark Twain)
The dog lady


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The trip and looking at photos I took, along with sharing some of the memories, is my pleasuresmile

Pity you never got to meet him. I was fortunate enough to meet Len Beadell (the chap who built the Gunbarrel highway) and that is a treasured memory.



-- Edited by The dog lady on Friday 16th of August 2013 01:58:13 AM

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Cheers, Marianna. 

The more I learn about people, the more I like my dogs (Mark Twain)
the rocket


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Unusual photo



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