Terowie and Petersborough

The little town of Terowie is between Adelaide and Broken Hill and Pertersborough is about 20ks north. Both towns are just chocca block with old buildings which, as you know, I just love to see. The unfortunate thing is that these old towns are literally falling to bits and the buildings in Terowie are a good example of what happens when a town dies when the railway closes down. What was once a thriving and hectic town is now literally a ghost town. Terowie tries to encourage the tourist trade by offering free overnight camping at the old railway station. It's a lovely spot (although freezing when we were there) and the lovely lady, Karen, at the information centre/cafe was very welcoming. There are 150 residents residing in Terowie but there will be one less now as the very day we left there, police did a search of one of the houses and found human remains in the fireplace and back yard. They have arrested the owner of the house who is now awaiting charging as the remains were found to have evidence of violence causing death. Very spooky that this happened while we were leaving town. Not exactly what you want to hear after you have spent the night there. Anyway, this town could be used in a movie except that if the buildings aren't restored or maintained they will just be beyond repair.

What was Very interesting though is that this railway station is exactly where General Macarthur stood when he said those very famous words "I shall return". This plaque commemorates the very spot on the platform.

Petersborough is also just as old but seems to have captured the tourists a little more. A very pretty town with much more restorations done and a lot bigger. The railway station was demolished in the 60s which is a source of regret for the town. One of the residents made an exact replica to scale of the station. The bricks were made from the original bricks were which had been used as landfill when demolished. The wood was also made from original beams. Quite amazing. Some of the buildings were very ornate. Note Queen Victorias head!!

We had a wonderful morning tea at the cafe and John had a delicious serve of lemon meringue pie that was almost as good as his sister, Beth's. I had the best hot chocolate drink and a homemade sausage roll. Yum! On to Adelaide Talkies soon Xx Sonia n John