Our previous 'en passant' judgement, as we drove through Bridgetown many months ago, had been that this was a place of interest, beauty and charm. Our tour of the town confirmed that this opinion had been correct. Bridgetown is a delight.
We began on a hill overlooking the valley in which the town nestles, and as can be seen, the calm, early morning atmosphere still carried the smoke of the many wood fires which had kept the locals warm overnight.
Bridgetown can be chilly. We later noted with interest at the Information Centre that the town now promotes itself as the "Winter Capital of WA", a place where tourists can rug up and, as the promotional blurb notes, "experience the breathtaking views of rolling green hills, early morning mists on the river, heritage buildings, gourmet dining, boutique shops, wines, chocolate and markets featuring local produce".
We had certainly experienced the 'rolling green hills' on our drive across from Nanup, so now it was time to see just what was on offer in the town itself.
In terms of first impressions, we were both struck by the similarity between Bridgetown and its surrounds and parts of the Adelaide Hills. This is not surprising.
When the area was settled in the mid 1800's, those who first arrived took up land for grazing. Timber cutting soon followed, as did the realisation that the 'Geelup' (the original name for Bridgetown) district had real potential for fruit production. The cool climate proved ideal for apple orchards. The opening of the railway line to Bridgetown in 1898 saw a rapid expansion of the orchard and mixed farming activities in the area, and although the apple industry has now shifted its focus to the Manjimup area, many small fruit holdings can still be seen marching across the hillsides. Apples still retain a local importance, as we shall see later.
One of the district's first luminaries, John Blechynden, took up 4,000 acres of grazing land at the ripe old age of twenty-one. He was certainly no slouch. His homestead 'Bridgedale', which he built on the banks of the Blackwood, still stands, and is now in the care of the National Trust.
One of the district's first luminaries, John Blechynden, took up 4,000 acres of grazing land at the ripe old age of twenty-one. He was certainly no slouch. His homestead 'Bridgedale', which he built on the banks of the Blackwood, still stands, and is now in the care of the National Trust.
The Blackwood River is WA's longest 'flowing' river. This description would have been somewhat confounding if we had not become so familiar with the Gascoyne and its usually dry bed. One can but speculate as to the fine times the Blechynden family may have enjoyed taking in the riparian views from their front yard.
Whilst the timber industry is still a major feature of the local economy, with the 'tooth pick trucks' being a constant feature on the roadways of the area (and thundering through the main street at what were invariably questionable speeds as far as the 50 kph limit was concerned), mining, general agriculture and tourism have taken over from the original orchard industry as the economic mainstays.
Tourists we were, so after our overview of the town from the nearby hills, it was time to wander the main street and see just what Bridgetown had to offer at a pace far more leisurely than that of our first encounter.
We began at the northern end of Hampton Street, where the old Repertory Theatre building remains the venue for a pretty lively series of local productions. The Bridgetown Theatre Company produces five shows each year culminating in their famous Xmas pantomime.
From here it was a short stroll past one of the many tea rooms which abound in the district. 'Tea and Sympathy' was once the local ambulance centre which has now moved to bigger and better premises.
We were somewhat miffed that we would not be on deck in Bridgetown to wish the proprietors a 'happy birthday'.
One standout for us during our ramble was the Bridgetown Memorial Park which extended off the main street and is accessed through this stone entrance.
Here wall plaques list those who made the ultimate sacrifice in various theatres of war,
whilst beyond this simple but highly effective portal a pathway extends through a charming park to the distant flagpoles and stele of the RSL memorial.
In what we thought was a very smart multiple use concept, parts of the memorial grounds incorporate a children's playground where hopefully the local youngsters learn more than just how to play.
Colourful flowers are another feature of this end of Hampton Street, both in the park areas
and along the footpaths.
Our next stop was at the Bridgetown Visitor Centre. Apart from all the usual promotional brochures and pamphlets, the local wine industry is more than adequately advertised in this clever display.
But tourist information was not the prime reason for our visit. This building houses what is reputed to be the only Jigsaw Puzzle Gallery in the southern hemisphere. Now I have to confess that whilst jigsaw puzzles did feature somewhat during my childhood, they were never the centre of my universe. But the thought of eschewing something as unique as a huge collection of puzzles was too much for me....my gold coin donation was duly deposited and in I went.
Well, what a surprise awaited this somewhat sceptical visitor. There were jigsaws of very imaginable size and style. I have had to exercise serious editorial restraint in terms of the resultant photos and restrict them to a few indicative samples rather than bore everyone to death.
Never before had I seen 3D jigsaws, but here they were numerous. The Eiffel Tower
and the Empire State Building (pretending to be the Leaning Tower of Pizza.....there was a large 'please do not touch' sign on this one) were but two.
And as if large upright puzzles were not enough, the display included various other shapes, including these globes.
The walls of the room carried jigsaws large...this one was comprised of 7,000 pieces......
and small. This very poorly photographed wooden puzzle (it was behind glass because of its rarity) is purportedly the world's smallest. To be frank, I suspect there would be very few visitors who would be in a position to legitimately challenge this claim. I was quite prepared to take it on face value and ogle with appropriate wonder.
But the exhibit which really took my fancy was that which detailed the plight of one unfortunate puzzle devotee who, as the article notes, spent seven years on a puzzle only to find (or not to find as the case may be) that the last piece was missing. In what is a delightful variant of the old 'missing homework excuse' it is suspected that his dog ate it. I have to admit to making a slight fool of myself whilst reading this article....I just cracked up.
You will undoubtably be pleased to hear that there is a happy ending and proof that those who make jigsaw puzzles are all heart. When hearing of the plight of this poor soul, and in an obvious effort to preclude his admission to an institution for the demented, the puzzle manufacturers made a special replacement piece and set it off to their, by now, most famous customer. If this had happened yesterday rather than some years ago, I suspect the cynical amongst us would be heard to mutter "bloody clever marketing ploy".
I was still laughing when I rejoined Liz, who had decided that jigsaws did not hold the same appeal as souvenir stubbie holders, her travelling collecting passion. She had remained trawling through the offerings in the main part of the Visitor Centre.
It was time to seek more Bridgetown surprises and we set off further down the main street
to the bend in the road and the first two of the three town pubs.
But first we walked past the old town gaol (the rear building) which looked remarkably like a red brick bungalow,
the (typically Western Australian) Post Office building
and the Town Hall.
The Freemasons Hotel is a grand old building standing opposite the Town Hall.
As we took a closer look to see if there was a menu displayed, we were stunned to find this sign. Who ever heard of a country pub which was closed for three days a week and then only open for four and five hours on two of the days on which it does trade. One can only assume Friday and Saturdays at the Freemasons must be huge or that those who invested money in this hostelry are completely disinterested in a good return.
There were no such limitations evident at the equally large but obviously far more active Bridgetown Hotel on the opposite side of Hampton Street
which proudly boasts a victory of yesteryear. We had seen a similar sign elsewhere...the pub at Port Denison has had a similar win, but three years later. We cannot comment further on either, nor the interior of this august establishment....it was far too early for a beer.
But it did occur to me that too much of all that was on offer at the pub might well qualify one as a subject of this wonderful sign I spied in a shop close by.
And whilst on the subject of signs and festivities, the Emporium Bistro, a flash Hampton Street eatery (it is much better on the inside!),
is already advertising for their New Year's Eve party. It is difficult to see in this photo, but those wishing to revel at the Emporium can do so for the princely sum of $150 per head. We wondered if that included shares in the place.
I have previously waxed lyrical about the flowers in the main street. Let me take that one step further. The good folk of Bridgetown are obviously also very concerned about the health and well being of their street trees.....to the extent that many are protected from the cold by knitted pullovers.
The Co-pilot assures me that there are similar examples elsewhere in the country, but I've never seen any prior to our Bridgetown ramble. How quaint!
Whilst still on the subject of local flora, the public loo in the main street is home to another fine display.
From this deck, which is on street level in Hampton Street, the hilly nature of Bridgetown is clearly apparent.
Fortunately Hampton Street remains flat and level for its entirety whilst hills and gullies climb and fall on either side of it. We toddled on further south along the main street of this historic town which is the only one in Western Australia to be classified as a heritage town by the National Trust. Having previously visited both Toodyay and York, this surprised us somewhat.
And I have to say that the Westpac Bank building did not look too 'historical', but it did exuded a certain appeal and a lovely contrast of colours, nestled as it is behind the leafy street trees.
The old pharmacy building next door, now a real estate office, was more on the money from an historical perspective, but we did wish the owners would do something about the verandah roof. A lick of paint would not be that expensive, surely.
Bridgetown is noted for the number of significant events held in the town throughout the year. I was particularly peeved that we were to miss the 'Blues at Bridgetown' by a week. I even gave considerable thought to ways by which we could scoot back from Albany, but it was logistically too hard and, more to the point, the Treasurer is anything but a blues fan...my dream was doomed from the outset....Tamworth here we come in 2016!
Catering for the incoming hordes is not a problem in Bridgetown. Cafes and restaurants of all varieties flourish in the main street and elsewhere. Many have a real rustic charm,
and this particular cafe added to this with a display of one of my favourite spring flowers, the highly colourful and culinarily useful nasturtium!
Within metres we came to the last of the three town pubs, one we were assured by the caravan park owner was no more than a kilometre walk from the park.....now there's a man with his priorities in order. Scotts Hotel is far less grand than its two counterparts, but at least it appeared to open daily (I was still shaking my head over the opening hours, or lack of them, of the Freemasons).
Just beyond the pub stands another of Bridgetown's fine old hospitality buildings, the Nelson House Lodge aka the Bridgetown Motel.
Like so many of the town's establishments, this is surrounded by delightful gardens, and of course, what better time to be seeing them than in spring.
Almost opposite this grand establishment is another eatery of a very different kind. Perched on the edge of Hampton Street, like most larger buildings on this side of the road, is the home of the town's Chinese restaurant. I struggled to come to grips with the concept of Chinese take-away coming from such a typically rambling 'Australiana' building.
But things then became even more oddly interesting. Below and behind the balcony is the restaurant's car park. Rustic indeed, but so what I hear you cry? I invite you to note the sign nailed to the tree trunk at the entrance, and now,
here's what it says. So folks, if you hanker for a Chinese meal in Bridgetown on a stormy or very hot day, be prepared to walk, and, by the way, wear long, thick trousers, gaiters and boots! Local colour at its best!
We had, by now almost reached the southern end of the main CBD. Hampton Street continues its tree lined way south from here where it curves away over the railway line and again becomes the South-Western Highway. More of this end of town later.
The last significant building we noted at this end of the street was the somewhat imposing bulk of the Anglican Church. Now here's a building of substance.
Looking at it from another angle, the slopes of Bridgetown side streets either side of Hampton Street become clearly apparent.
But for now it was time to make a U turn and wander back to the Cruiser, past yet another example of the floral offerings in this ost appealing main street.
We had seen enough by now to confirm that our first impressions, gained as we drove through so many months ago, had been fully justified. Bridgetown oozes country charm and hospitality. And where else, one could ask, would a town of less than 3,000 residents support its own fancy dress shop? To us, this said a lot.
Then there is the genuinely 'old style' butcher shop (one of two in the main street...both very competitive...there is no excuse in Bridgetown for a run-of-the-mill BBQ), where all that was missing (for those who can remember) was the sawdust on the floor. The redoubtable lads of this fine store lamented the fact that health regulations now prohibit this form of old style cleanliness.
And it was good to see the local boys and girl in blue engaged in a spot of community policing, or was this just an excuse to slurp on their lattes in public rather than have them go cold en route back to the station?
So let's complete our 'mainy' with a final streetscape looking north past the Town Hall
on our return jaunt.
"Come on Lizzie, there is no bus coming and the Cruiser is in sight."
This had been a great morning, but we were not done with Bridgetown yet. 'The Cidery' and a Blackwood river walk were both on the agenda before we left this delightful town and made our way further south to Denmark and the Albany 100 celebrations.
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