Bus trip to tour through the past

MEMBERS of the Woady Yaloak Historical Society are inviting everyone to take a journey through the shire’s north with a bus tour next month.

The group’s president Kylie Fenton said the drive will be an insightful and engaging one showcasing the region’s history.

“The multi-fold aim is to really take people around the historical areas over the whole northern end of Golden Plains Shire,” she said.

“Whilst we’re doing that, we’ll be covering areas we haven’t covered previously which is the geography of the area. We’ll also cover some families in the area, the police areas, and old highways.”

Towns and localities including Haddon, Trunk Lead, Bo Peep, Lake Burrumbeet, Carngham, Snake Valley, Linton, Devil’s Kitchen, Newtown, and Scarsdale will feature in the itinerary.

The trip will be complemented by a booklet created by historical society member Laurie Moore, who’ll present on the geography and past character of each destination.

“He’ll be discussing the gold leaves, lava flows, how Lake Burrumbeet was formed over the years, and why people decided to settle here to farm,” Ms Fenton said.

Some information for the booklet is being sourced from a larger work on Nintingbool and Haddon, which society members are now developing.

Lunch will be provided at Happy Valley Hall. The coach is able to seat 50 attendees, with the majority of seats sold already.

Ms Fenton said the bus trip is the group’s first since before COVID.

“We did all sorts of trips in the area but we wanted to make this a nice big Christmas thing.

“The previous trips were very popular and pretty well sold out. This one’s different because it’s a larger coach.

“I know Linton Historical Society did one of these earlier in the year and it was sold out with 10 people waiting.”

The bus will depart from The Well at Smythesdale at 9.30am on Sunday 15 December, returning between 4pm and 4.30pm.

Tickets are $25 inclusive of lunch, and can be purchased by emailing [email protected].