Mar 26, Lake Boga, Swan Hill

We stayed in a spot just off the highway last night and drove north to the Reedy Lakes. One of the lakes was an ibis rookery and good bird watching spot. We didn't see any ibis (we had seen lots in Sydney) but we did see eastern swamp hens, cormorants, a couple of black swans, two swamp harriers and ducks.
From there we went to Lake Boga and the Flying Boat Museum. In WWII, the lake was a secret repair depot for American, Dutch and Australian flying boats. It was a huge complex in a very small community. Hundreds of planes came in for repairs from 1942 till it closed in 1947. There was a film that described the depot, how it came to be so far inland in Australia and the work that went on there. Besides a museum that held a Catalina Flying Boat and other memorabilia, there was an underground communications bunker. It was really, really interesting. And it was built by the Lake Boga Lions Club and local and government funds.
On to Swan Hill. It was another town on the Murray River. We went to the Pioneer Settlement, a collection of 50 old buildings, old farm equipment, trucks and cars. We wandered through the buildings, like the first prefabricated building in Australia. Made of metal, it was shipped here to provide housing in the gold mine towns. The wooden shipping crates provided wood for the floors and walls.
In another building was a stereopticon theatre. It was a round wooden structure with 25 spots where people could sit and look through a stereopticon. There
might be a picture of Versailles, then in a a minute, the picture would move to the left and there would be a picture of the Bridge of Sighs. There were a total of 50 pictures from Paris, London, Germany, Spain, Italy and the US. The man who owned it took it from town to town and rented a room in which he set it up and charged admission. When the admissions dropped off, he packed up and moved to the next town.
There were different people demonstrating in the print shop, the music shop and so on. We got a ride in a 1925 Dodge and passed on the horse carriage ride.
We decided to try another paddle wheeler trip up the Murray River. The trip on the Pyap was more enjoyable than the one in Echuca. The river was quieter, no houseboats, and the captain provided more information. And he was funny, or as the lady next to me said, "He's a cheeky bugger." We met some nice people from Queensland and Tasmania, which they called Tazzy.
From there it was a long drive through wheat country. There were miles and miles of wheat fields that went as far as the horizon and that seemed miles away too. Then there would be areas of dry looking scrub and dry water holes. And more wheat fields. And it was 95 degrees. Now we're in Ouyen next to a sad looking, dry park.
Pictures - Samson and the Catalina, Samson and the stereopticon theater, the Murray River, wheat fields