20150906 WA Northcliffe, Shannon National Park to Walpole

20150906 Northcliffe was one of the most isolated of the settlements and was generally regarded as one of the most miserable, only because the cattle struggled on the ‘desolate sandy plains’ and failed to thrive because there was no knowledge of how to make the soil produce good pastures and by the mid 1930’s, a majority of the settlers walked off their blocks.

 

TheMural says it all and there’s not much in the town, it makes you wonder just what the hell do the people who live here do.

The streets of Northcliffe in the 1930’s, my how times have changed.

A Bobtail used for hurling logs and there were not small logs by any means, the settlers certainly had their work cut out for them.

Falling a giant Kerri tree was a long and arduous task, a scarf was cut into the tree by hand with an axe while standing on a platform which gave the fallers a smaller girth to work with.  Then a back cut was made with a cross cut saw, it often took more than 8 hours to all one tree.

Mr Sugars had a bullock team in Northcliffe during the 1920’s and it was used for heavy haulage of timber logs, ect.

The Community Mural

A small plot of barren land between two shops, a seed was sown an idea formed, to create a community garden. 

Northcliffe community varied and rugged, soft and harsh, green and red, they live together creative spirit pleading for life in isolation.

God and nature the great healer pour out their spirit.  More faith than a mustard seed.

The garden grown.

Located in the heart of karri country lies Shannon National Park which was named Shannon after Royal Navy ship HMS Shannon only it was closed after the fire last year, bugger I so wanted to see it, after all it’s a name after my own heart.  The town of Shannon settlement had 90 houses that were built in one double U-shaped row that surrounded a central communal area but after the mill closed in 1968 most of the Shannon workforce was transferred to the mill in Pemberton and the houses were sold and transported away.  Evidence of the old town can now be seen today such as the fruit trees still growing in the cleared area of the Shannon Campground and traces of foundations of old buildings and railway lines can be found along the Shannon Dam walk trail.

Walpole, which takes its name from Walpole Inlet which in turn is named from the Walpole River, gee that make sense.   We stopped for lunch but didn’t stay long as this town is not RV friendly, if caught camping you could be fined $1000 so we drove up the road to the good old cemetery.

This was the only photo I took in this town, it seems I have a thing about murals.