This is Part II of Leigh’s trip across Australia in a 1944 Ford GPW. Read Part I here.

Map shows the trip from Terowie to Alpana Station.

Leaving early we travelled to Peterborough in the southern Flinders Ranges. Peterborough developed from a small country town to a major regional centre with the coming of the railways in1881 and was the largest railway depot outside Adelaide, with huge workshops, a 23 bay roundhouse and a 3 gauge turntable, sadly increasing motorisation led to the demise of the railways and after the closure of the line in the early 1990’s all that remains is the Steamtown Heritage Rail Centre housed in the original workshops and depot.  www.steamtown.com.au

The convoy parked in front of Steamtown.

Steam town engine display

Once again the weather was best described as “ordinary” as we travelled through the small townships of Orroroo and Wilmington to arrive at Quorn in the late afternoon where  we camped in dismal conditions at the Town Oval  and had our evening meal supplied by the Community Sporting Assoc.

That night was spent clinging to our mattress as un-seasonal gale force winds and driving rain hammered the campground, fortunately it cleared slightly by morning and we set off damp and weary for Alpana Station. (station in this instance is the equivalent of an American Ranch) Established in 1878, Alpana spans 60,000 acres however can only support around 3000 Merino sheep due to the arid nature of the country.

Entering Brachina Gorge

The route taken was via Kanyaka ruins and Brachina Gorge where once again it rained heavily and made conditions difficult, so much so that in the evening the road was officially closed to traffic.

Driving through the rain and mud in Brachina Gorge.

Kanyaka Station was established as a cattle station in February 1852 by Hugh Proby. The Flinders Ranges is very dry country, so it is both tragic and ironic that on 30 August 1852, Proby drowned when he was swept from his horse crossing the swollen Willochra Creek while trying to herd a mob of cattle during a thunderstorm.Under subsequent owners, the station grew in size until it was one of the largest in the district with 70 families living and working there. Because of the difficulties of transport, the station had to be very self-sufficient and Kanyaka station grew to include a large homestead, cottages for workers, workshops, huts and sheds, mostly built from local stone due to limited supplies of workable local timber. Severe droughts resulted in massive losses of stock and eventually the station was abandoned. Due to its stone construction, many of the buildings survive today as ruins and are a popular tourist attraction.

Kanyaka homestead

Once again camp was set up in the rain at Alpana Station, tomorrow on to the small settlement of Blinman.

Read Part III Here

Leigh and his wife Cheryl drove their 1944 GPW 4200 miles across Australia. Leigh documented his trip with some pics and descriptions. Below is part I. Thanks to Leigh for taking the time to put this together!

Leigh and Cheryl started at point A, east of Melbourne. They drove through)rain northwestward to Adelaide (B), where they joined the group. Together, the caravan started northward, reaching Terowie (G on the map).

The seeds for this trip were actually sown in 1995 when a group of Military vehicle enthusiasts organised a run from Alice Springs to Darwin to commemorate th 50th anniversary of the end of WW2, they would re-enact the supply convoys that ran between these citys during this conflict.
Enthusiasts from all states of Australia and several from overseas responded and over eighty vehicles participated with the Australian Army supplying a further fourteen support vehicles. They also took charge of the convoy that was spread over several miles.

As a result of the success of this event it was decided that a similar event, but on a smaller scale be run every five years starting from a different state every year.

This year was South Australias turn with the convoy of 40 vehicles including 5 – MB/GPW’s, 1 – 1954 Jeep Truck and 1 – 1974 Mitsubishi built Jeep meeting at the National Military Vehicle Museum in Adelaide (who have an MB and a GPA.) For us in south east Victoria this was a 600 mile journey in appalling weather (heavy rain & squalls) before the official start. After two days battling a head wind my long suffering wife, Cheryl and I finally arrived at the start point in our 1944 GPW & Australian Army Jeep trailer, (slightly different to the US trailer) here we had a lay day to meet the other participants and do any minor repairs/gather last minute supplies as we were about to head into country where there are little in the way of services and generally no phone coverage.

Overlooking Barossa Valley

Next morning we set off through the Adelaide Hills and the wine making region of the Barossa Valley on mostly sealed roads to get us accustomed to travelling in convoy, to end up on the Worlds end Hwy (it wasn’t really that bad) at Burra Gorge where we camped for the night.

Burra copper mine Circa 1870.

Burra Mine Engine House.

The following day Mon. Aug. 10th we travelled on to the sleepy town of Terowie, (population 145) where the local Citizens Assoc. supplied us with a BBQ dinner and free camping on the local oval, again it was windy and freezing.

Cheryl next to Terowie MacArthur Monument.

Terowie was a busy staging camp during WW2 and while transferring trains here on 20th March 1942 General Douglas MacArthur made his famous speech regarding the battle of the Philippines in which he said “I came out of Bataan and I shall return”. He subsequently repeated the line “I shall return” in a number of speeches. The event is commerated by a plaque on the now disused railway platform.

Setting up camp at Terowie

Tomorrow its on to Quorn in the picturesque Flinders Ranges. Read Part II here (scheduled for Sat morning)