WE TODDLE AROUND TOOLEYBUC - ANOTHER GEM DISCOVERED (4 APRIL 2017)

I remain annoyed that for the life of me I cannot ascertain the origin of the name of this tiny River Murray town.....other than to note that originally, in the late 1800's, it was known as 'Tooley Buc' (when there was nothing here but the odd combination of a tavern and a small chapel). Mind you my enquiries have not been extensive....there are other things to do, such as tour the town.....my time is limited.

Now, given that Tooleybuc has a population of about 200, this does not take too long, but I have to say that we soon discovered that this tiny River Murray town is a delight.

A quick look at our caravan park is in order before we begin our ramble. As you saw in my last, our site was a cracker....lawn and shade cloth (what next?). 

This park is different to say the least, as exemplified by the quaint 'camp kitchen'

where Liz and I are determined to 'sit at the bar' for a happy hour on a return visit some day (and there will be one).

A lovely flower bed runs along the wall of the more than practical amenities block,

whilst opposite the office, bright colours are a feature of the several on site vans.

This theme of colour is continued along the rear fence of the park, which, although only tiny by comparison to many in which we have stayed (there are only about half a dozen transit sites) proved to be one of unique charm. We love the place, and as I mentioned previously, plan a return visit at some stage.

From the main entrance to the park we could see across the Mallee Highway to the beautiful town park which runs along the banks of the Murray (more of this later).

For us it was a right turn here on our planned walk to see what was on offer at the Tooleybuc Sporting Club, a ramble along the road which takes travellers to the extraordinarily named town of 'Goodnight'.

Apparently this town sprang up at a spot on the River Murray which was inhabited in the days of the river boats by a 'local identity', a hermit type to whom all the passing paddle steamer crews would call "goodnight" as they passed by at dusk. And the rest, as they say, is history. The river seems to spawn these oddities......we visited the town of 'Howlong' whilst in Rutherglen last year!

But back to Tooleybuc....as we made our way towards the Club, we passed the local high school grounds, where a couple of examples of local artistic ingenuity

were on full display.

A short stroll further on we could see the buildings of the Tooleybuc Club complex on the other side of the road, 

but before wandering over to check this out, we had a quick look at the beautifully grassed surface of the town football oval (doesn't a good water supply do wonders)

where we were somewhat amused to note the massive bank of gas water heaters at the rear of the club rooms. There would be no excuse for any muddy combatant to leave these grounds after a hard fought contest other than squeaky clean!

A little beyond the oval, as we crossed the road, we gained our first glimpse of the manicured fairways and greens of the Tooleybuc golf course, a course we were told draws many to this town.

As we wandered down the roadway which brings visitors to 

the Tooleybuc Club Motel,

it was clear that this is definitely the 'sporting end of town' where immaculate bowling greens and tennis courts lie either side of the path through beautiful lawns and gardens, with the buildings of the club in the distance.

Here too, is the entrance to the first tee, and the small Tooleybuc Golf Course clubhouse.

The tenor of this sign prominently displayed on the clubhouse wall, led us to suspect that there has been more than one occasion on which visitors have taken nefarious advantage of the fact that this course operates on the 'honour' system.

And this is not the only reminder.....other notices advised any who might be tempted to belt their little white balls around this course without having made the appropriate contribution to the club coffers, that snap inspections were par for the course (sorry!) and that any who could not produce evidence of payment (not quite sure how this works) would find their round suddenly and severely curtailed as the first step on the road to more severe punishment. 

Looking out over this section of the course it was obvious that a deal of effort is devoted to its maintenance.  It seemed entirely fair to us that this should be paid for by those enjoying the result.

The size of the Tooleybuc Club is evidence of the fact that this place is a golfers' Mecca, and well visited.

It goes on and on. We later learnt that those in caravans are welcome to make the car park an overnight resting place, but this did not disturb our equilibrium....we were much happier where we were.

It was here that we came across the beginning of the Tooleybuc River Walk,

a riparian ramble which, oddly enough, took us down to and along the banks of the Murray, initially past this charmingly rustic little public BBQ pavilion, 

before we came to our fist river views where the residual mud flats of the falling river did not present the most appealing scene.

As we made our way further along the path,

the outlook improved dramatically. This was obviously a popular spot for those who felt the need for a little peaceful contemplation.

And then nature provided another treat.....these beautifully coloured Eastern rosellas perched high overhead. 

As we walked on past a group of small houses, where those taking their ease on their front verandahs

are rewarded with a marvellous parkland outlook, we again heard the distinctive soft, high pitched 'pi pi' call of the rosellas.

Sure enough......a flock was happily munching away on the grasses of the park, quite undisturbed by our presence....what a treat!

At this point in our walk we were finally able to look upstream to the road bridge we had traversed a few hours before.

Built in 1925, this was the last Perry Allen designed timber truss and steel lift span bridge to be erected in the country, and, according to the pundits, is one of only two such remaining bridges still spanning the Mighty Murray. 

As you have seen already, it is only wide enough to allow the passage of one vehicle at a time in either direction, but it remains a vital link.....it is the only point at which the crossing can be made from NSW to Victoria (and vice versa) in this region. Mind you, at this time of the year the traffic is somewhat one way as all 'The Mexicans' stream out of Victoria heading north on their annual pilgrimage to warmer climes.

We were now on the last leg of our stroll (this one was unintended!) and the rough pathway we had walked thus far transformed into a cement thoroughfare as it neared the quite extensive formal park grounds which are a feature of the town centre.

Even during our brief stop-over we saw many families, local and visiting alike, relaxing in the park and taking advantage of the kiddies playground and the other facilities on offer.

Here too, set in these lovely grounds, is a remnant of Tooleybuc history, the restored 'Bridgekeeper's Cottage'.

The small local 'CBD' can be found on the opposite side of the road just beyond the end of the park and the bridge. I suspect christening this couple of shops, including the Post Office/Newsagent/general store, and the take-away next door, as a 'business district' is an exaggeration, but at least there is a pub, and from what we experienced on our brief fluid replacement visit, the service and meals on offer are of a standard.






We actually called in there on our way back from a sticky beak down to the end of this section of town











which we soon discovered was definitely the place to live if you had 'arrived' in Tooleybuc, in more than the literal sense of the word,













as this mansion demonstrates. This was the largest of the cluster, but not isolated to any extent. Obviously someone, or two, has made it good in Tooleybuc!



So it was, with a couple of pints under our belts, well, your scribe's at least, we returned to our park and our mobile home, more than pleased with what we had found in this tiny border town, one through which we had previously travelled on several occasions, but now one at which we shall plan a stop-over whenever in this part of the country. Tooleybuc is charming.