Exploring the Ghosts of Bushrangers Past: Day 14 A lesser known crime

Chistmas Day - We awoke to the wonders of Christmas Day and that Santa has visited in the night, as well as some rolling through thunderstorms, with more on the western horizon, looming our way.

A very slow start to the day, pleasant breaky, opening of presents, and we enjoyed 'Secret Santa' with our travelling companions.

A slow packup was turned to a rush as a thunderstorm hit. Since we were packed a bit quicker than our travelling companions, we decided to head off first in search of tonights camp, as we had no plans, only that we were now heading toward home.

We headed due north on the Cobb Highway. Along this route there are information points about the 'geological fault' the the highway follows. There is a 15-20 meter drop on the eastern side of the highway and this is highlighted at certain points, where the tops of the trees, about 100 - 150 meters off the eastern side of the highway, are at ground level to the highway. An awesome display of mother nature.

Turning east at Deniliquin onto the Riverina Highway found us taking a late lunch on the shores of an irrigation lake in the town of Finley. Just as we were packing up, our travelling companions had chosen the same spot for lunch, so it allowed us a chance to touch base before we continued on, north along the Newel Highway.

About 30 minutes later saw us in Jerilderie. Jerilderie is the scene of a bank robbery conducted by Ned Kelly and his gang more than a year before his famous shootout and capture in Glen Rowan.

February 1879 saw Ned and his gang rob the Jerilderie bank, and threaten the people of the small hamlet to chop down the telegraph lines so the crime could not be immediately reported. The small building that was the bank is still preserved as well other buildings, revealing the architecture of the times.

The original Jerilderie bank.

The story.

The Willow's, there is a story of the Willows down further.

The original blacksmith shop, used in the robery.

More of the story.

The story of the Willow's, a lovely building. It was the Visitor Information Centre until recently, when the local council decided to move it to the council offices, dumb decision.

We had noticed rain building on all four points of the compass, and the first touched us as we left Jerilderie. So, using the Bureau of Meteorology radar via our IPhone, we charted our course and speed, to position ourselves between these storms.

From Narrandera, we decided to explore options for a camp. Due South of a one pub town called Grong Grong, is the Berembed Weir, located on the Murrumbidgee River, a major tributary of the Murray, that was our pick. We let our travelling companions know of our destination, and noting that the unsealed road was in excellent condition, though from the gate into the weir, is was somewhat lesser in standard. There is about 20k's of dirt road to the Weir.

We set camp. Our travelling companions did not get as far as us, they chose a spot not so far in, beside the road, as the road follows an irrigation channel that is sourced from the Weir.

Camp: