Sunday 22nd December 2024
Dundowran
Our first coffee of the day took rather longer than usual today, spinning it out, neither of us particularly feeling like getting going. After the full day yesterday and the moving on tomorrow, it made sense to have a quiet day on the beach.
Wherever we go, I like to take a look at its history; trying to make sense of the journey these places have taken to present themselves as we see them today. To date, most locations have had a story to tell. That is until now.
Dundowran, a suburb of Hervey Bay, is an extremely attractive little village of about 1000 people and appears to be a mix of owner occupied dwellings and holiday lets. If anything, tourism might be its way forward. The origin of its name is somewhat obscure but could possibly come from the Kabi language Thundarun indicating plum tree. It's only historic reference is mention of a school here in 1891, which closed in 1960. So, for once, perhaps I need to settle for the conclusion that this is simply a new town. Possibly, it might be known for its rather splendid beach? Dundowran Beach is huge, and a walk along it this morning took almost an hour each way, and appears to serve as a village meeting place, at least among the dog walking fraternity. Dogs of all shapes and sizes may be seen on the beach, but a really interesting resident is the soldier crab. Armies of thousands of the tiny little things, at low tide, could be seen marching in formation. When approached, they simply disappear into the sand, and it's like they were never there.
So I thought I'd look into Hervey Bay instead, and I find that although this place is many times larger than Dundowran, it still really does not have much to say for itself. Captain Cook did not visit because the waters were too shallow, and he also did not realise that Fraser Island, K'gari, was not joined to the mainland. He did, however, name the bay after Augustus John Hervey, soon to be third Earl of Bristol, a naval chap who was also to become Lord of the Admiralty.
So, our day was not to be wasted, and we sat on the beach with the baking hot sun, masquerading in a clear blue sky, and contemplating our move tomorrow first to the tiny airport at Hervey Bay, and hence our flight to Sydney and then on to Manly on the Northern Beaches.
ps. Sitting and reading my book on the 5 or so mile empty beach, I noticed a short, solitary vertical stick near to where I was. A dog being walked, made his way across to the stick, and had a wee.
pps. We watched the crowds at the solstice at Stonehenge on the ABC News. They all looked so grey and cold there. I think we should stop here.
