In the meantime though, I spent a couple more days in Wodonga after our visit to Rutherglen. Since I've been treating you to some photos of "big things" that Australia is proud of, I thought you might like to see the "big thing" that Wodonga is famous for ... the World's Largest Rolling Pin which is found on the roof of a very good bakery!
And another thing which makes Wodonga special --- not everywhere has "Sesame Street"!
Before leaving Wodonga I went up to a lookout to overlook Wodonga and the surrounding hills. It was very, very hazy as several controlled burns had been happening in the area over the weekend and the smoke hadn't yet dissipated.
I left Wodonga last Monday and spent Tuesday in Melbourne (basically running around getting errands done) before an early morning flight on Wednesday back to Adelaide. A coffee on Rundle Mall and then I was off on the bus back up to Waikerie.
On Thursday I got to visit the school where a friend of mine is principal - it was a reciprocal visit as my friend had been to visit me and my school a couple of years ago.
Her school was originally founded in 1913 and so this year the school will be celebrating its centenary. The original building is still on site, but unfortunately over the years a much newer building was built onto the front of the original sandstone building and so now the only place you can really see the old building is from the back (sorry about all the lovely air conditioners in the photo).
This school is a lovely contrast of "old" and "new". A couple of years ago every school in Australia was given money by the federal government under a scheme called "Building Education Revolution" (BER). Although the schools were of course happy to get the money, the plan was probably less about education and more to stimulate the building industry, and the money had to be used to either build a new building or renovate an older one. So my friend's school now has an amazing new gymnasium.
This is the original school bell from when the school was founded in 1913.
I think the thing I loved best about this school though was the Library. Several years ago the school bought an old Lutheran Church that was next door to the school and incorporated it into the school grounds. Renovations and additions to the original church building have happened over the years and now the space is an absolutely lovely Library and research learning centre.
Yesterday I went for a little walk along the Murry River bank... just to get my dose of that lovely scenery.
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