Wednesday Wanderings with ARR authors
Catherine Evans takes us on a road trip to Tibooburra
Now, and then
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Tibooburra lies in the north-west corner of NSW, quite as far from anything as you could find. The Sturt National Park and Cameron’s Corner (where NSW, SA and Qld borders meet) are the drawcards to the area but it’s a town with a unique outback charm and enough to keep you busy for at least a week.
CWA Hall, Tibooburra, 1988
My first visit was in 1988 on a university field trip around western NSW. It rained while we were camping in the Sturt National Park, requiring us to evacuate…which wasn’t so easy. All the roads were dirt, even in town, which meant they were unpassable and undriveable. One bus got back into town, a small group of us in the other bus pretty much pushed it towards town until we got a tow.
Tibooburra main street, 1988
We made camp in the CWA Hall and stayed until the roads dried – about a week.
Tibooburra Hotel, 1988
We split ourselves between the two pubs, spending money evenly in town. It was a great week and I fell in love with western NSW.
…
Before the rain we’d been to Cameron’s Corner. There was a dirt road out there, a dingo fence and a cement pole commemorating the place. We went in the buses and no one was out there.
In 2004, I went back again, just overnight this time, on a work trip. We were passing through during a Cooper clover collection trip through western NSW and Qld. I was shocked at how much the town had changed – when everyone told me it didn’t change at all.
Tibooburra, 2004
The biggest change were the roads – so many had been tarred in those years I’d been away. There was a new motel and roadhouse. Many of the buildings were the same, thank goodness. Beautiful stone buildings that stood the test of time. And the pubs were the same…different owners but still two and I still needed to share myself between them.
Cameron’s Corner had new fencing, signs, a pub. I hardly knew the place. We were in a 2WD station wagon and no one was there.
In 2013, I went again, this time because my husband had never been and wanted to go to Cameron’s Corner. Chatting to the National Parks and Wildlife Ranger in Tibooburra, she couldn’t believe that the main street had ever been just a dirt road, and that I’d noticed changes in the town. She struggled to believe it was my third trip out there too. This time, the power pole at the CWA Hall had been replaced.
CWA Hall, Family Hotel, Tibooburra Hotel, 2013
The tree in front of the Family Hotel had been replaced by a row of gums. The Tibooburra Hotel had quite a major spruce up, and the tree outside had grown. We stayed in a new self-contained unit, on the main street a block from the pubs, rented out to tourists. The motel and the roadhouse were still there and going strong. Much of the Silver City Highway from Broken Hill to Tibooburra was tar, but sections of dirt road remained.
Cameron’s Corner was similar to 2004 but with more signage. We went to the pub, it’s in Queensland.
There was accommodation behind the pub – dongas – and it seemed rather popular. We arrived in a 2WD sedan and there were three 4WDs and a few 4WD utes around the back. The blokes in the pub, the 4WD-drivers, expressed their amazement that we’d been able to get out there in our car. The road to Cameron’s Corner is still a dirt one but it’s well maintained and it was dry. We were lucky it’d been graded recently so no deep wheel tracks.
Camerons Corner vista from NSW
I wonder what the changes will be next time I get out there?
Cath x
Catherine’s debut rural fiction novel is The Healing Season
Alicia used to know exactly what her life would look like: marry her best friend, manage her home town agricultural store, and live in her grandparent’s old house. But life never goes to plan, and Alicia is left with nothing more than the store to keep her going. Until a new employee walks through her door and offers a new friendship and potentially something more.
Lachlan has spent his life running, and Dulili is just far enough away for a new start.
But small towns have few secrets, and running from the past is a surefire way to guarantee no hope for a future.
The Healing Season is available in eBook from all good retailers.
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by Jennie Jones, Lisa Ireland and Catherine Evans.
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Find Catherine Evans on her webpage CatherineEvansAuthor.com
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I love that part of the country. Have you ever been to Tilpa? Or White Cliffs?
My brothers own a station just south of Tilpa & I also did a stint out there working as a Governess at White Cliffs & in the Tilpa Pub on weekends. I love going out to visit my brother’s station, it is so quiet & relaxing out there away from the towns. The Tilpa pub is unique, for a donation to the Royal Flying Doctor you can write your name on the wall. You could spend a week reading the wall & not read it all, if you look closely you can even find a famous name or two on the wall.
Hey Tilpagal,
It’s an awesome part of the country, isn’t it? I went to White Cliffs on the 1988 trip and the 2013 one as well. We stayed a few days in the underground motel in 2013, only a night camping in 1988. White Cliffs had changed a bit, but not as much as Tibooburra had, I thought!
On the 2004 trip we drove through Tilpa and Louth, but we didn’t stop. We were on a mission and the scientist I was with was keen to get into Cooper Creek country. I’ve seen so many many many stickers of the Tilpa Pub, I think they’re almost more famous than the pub! I’ll have to get out there and check out the pub inside, instead of just touring past! And the Louth Races, they’re on my bucket list too!
Thanks for commenting and for understanding my western NSW love!
Best wishes,
Cath xo