Gunnedah

Australian Sojourn – March 2023 • Part 7

Mum and I recently traveled inland from Guruk to the place we were both born, the northwestern New South Wales town of Gunnedah in the heart of Kamilaroi country.

Gunnedah and its surrounding area were originally inhabited by Indigenous Australians who spoke the Kamilaroi (Gamilaraay) language. The area now occupied by the town was settled by Europeans in 1833. Through my maternal grandmother’s family, the Millerds, my family can trace its connection to Gunnedah back to the town’s earliest days. For more about the town’s history and my family’s connection to it, see the previous Wild Reed posts, My “Bone Country” and Journey to Gunnedah.

Above: A memorial to Gambu Ganuurru, “Red Kangaroo,” the Indigenous Australian warrior and leader of the Gunn-e-dar people of the Kamilaroi tribe. After his death in the late 1700s, he was buried in the traditional way inside a carved tree.

Above: Gunnedah’s town hall clock tower and the former Acropolis Cafe (right).

Above: Mum (right) with her sister Ruth and brother Michael – Friday, March 24, 2023.

Above: With Aunty Ruth’s grandson Henry (right) and a mate of his. We’d just finished a game of Snakes and Ladders, a favorite of Henry's and mine.

Above: With my cousin Therese – Friday, March 24, 2023.

Above: Mum and I with longtime friends and former neighbors John and Heather Sills – Friday, March 24, 2023.



Left: With my childhood friend and neighbor Jillian. In the summer of 2018, Jillian and her husband visited me in Minneapolis. For some pics of their time there, click here.

Above: Standing at left with (from left) my aunt Ruth, cousin Alicia, cousin Therese, Mum, and Alicia’s son Alex – March 24, 2023.


Right: A chance encounter with my godmother, Rita Groth, in the main street of Gunnedah – March 25, 2023.

Above: And here I am with Rita in 1965.

Above: At left with childhood/school friends (from left) Therese, Sue, Jo, Louise, and Di – Friday, March 24, 2023.

Above: Mum and I with Mum’s cousin Joan and Joan’s son Matthew – March 25, 2023. We’re at Mum’s sister Ruth’s place enjoying the Australian tradition of afternoon tea. 😄

Above: Mum with our longtime friends Peter and Delores Worthington – Saturday, March 25, 2023.

Above: On our last morning in Gunnedah, our friends Louise and Russ hosted a lovely morning tea for Mum and I and friends Jo and Sue – Sunday, March 26, 2023.

The jacaranda tree behind us is in the backyard of my childhood home. As a child, I loved to climb high up into its branches. It always kept me safe.

Above: Louise’s morning tea included delicious homemade scones with jam, cream, and golden syrup. . . . Thanks, Louise!

Above: Mum – March 23, 2023.


NEXT: Last Days in Australia


See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Photo of the Day – March 25, 2023
• Across the Mountains . . . From Guruk to Gunnedah (2019)
• Family Time in Gunnedah (2019)
• A Visit to Gunnedah (2017)
• Australian Sojourn, May 2016 – Gunnedah
• Australian Sojourn, March 2015 – Gunnedah
• A Visit to Gunnedah (2014)
• Journey to Gunnedah (2011)
• This Corner of the Earth (2010)
• An Afternoon at the Gunnedah Convent of Mercy (2010)
• My “Bone Country” (2009)
• The White Rooster
• Remembering Nanna Smith
• One of These Boys is Not Like the Others
• Gunnedah (Part 1)
• Gunnedah (Part 2)
• Gunnedah (Part 3)
• Gunnedah (Part 4)

For previous installments in the “Australian Sojourn – March 2023” series, see:
• Central Station
• Goulburn
• Melbourne
• Guruk
• Mooloolaba
• Yamba

Images: Michael J. Bayly.