Mathinna Rally October 2008

Due to the unsafe nature of the roads into Griffin Park it was decided to go to an alternative venue at the Mathinna Football Grounds, a nice flat oval lying in the shadow of the mountain of Ben Lomond and the mountains of trees and pine plantations.
Mathinna is an old gold mining, timber cutters and timber milling town that has maintained the old time peace and quiet a country town seem to have. There has been considerable falling of the pine forests close to the town which has left a few of the hills to the north a little bare, though we believe they are being replanted.
A few of us arrived on the Thursday afternoon quickly set up and went for a pleasant stroll down to the South Esk River, with such a sunny day the running waters were clean and mesmerising. We were to spend considerable time there before returning and going into the craft & souvenir shop.

The craft & souvenir shop has considerable amounts of differing types of craft and souvenirs which is run by the local community for the benefit of the community, we were to note that Mathinna had won the tidy town award of recent times.
Liz was given a beautiful bunch of tulips on the way back to our camp by an elderly bloke interested in our rally and indicating that the local community being aware we would be staying in their midst; were looking forward to our visit and meeting with us.
After happy hour we were to walk up to the Community club and meet the locals and down a few cold ones whilst taking in the ambiance of the particularly old building. The bar man was a Hawthorn supporter so there was a bit of memorabilia from the grand final, this lead to shiacking from the locals and we were happy to join in. Then back to have our evening meal even it was a little late in the evening.

Friday arrived as a sunny morning though it was to become overcast later in the day, most members were to arrive during the day along with two mainland Motorhomes. They were met by our hosts Brian and Jean parked up and given our newsletter etc. Most of the day was spent catching up with those that had returned from the mainland and looking at the many photo's that they produced and generally talking about their experiences.

Ladies playing disc bowls

Up at the Mathinna Community club

After lunch many went walkabout around the town; with a few of the woman electing to play disc bowls, it was pretty serious business as to how the bowls were thrown and placed in the general scheme of things. Come happy hour we were to sit by the shed and take in the brilliant sunshine that had appeared, we were to celebrate members birthdays and anniversary's and offering best wish's to those feeling a little poorly at this time. Our hosts Brian & Jean were to outline the weekend activities and they then held a Trivia competition which tested the memory's of us all. The winners were John & Jenny who were presented with a block of chocolate each.
After happy hour many were to venture up to the Community Club and take in the ambiance of the old memorabilia again and partake in a few refreshments before going back to our rally site to have our evening meal, then we were to sit out in the warm evening air chewing the fat, so to speak, before retiring for the night.

Paying homage to Hawthorn

Back at the craft/souvenir shop

Mathinna Community club

During the early morning of Saturday there were spots of rain falling and by 8am there was steady rain falling, just heavy enough to be nuisance though it did not stop members congregating for a chat. At 11am the sun was shining brightly and our host Brian & Jean gave us our slips of paper for our cryptic treasure hunt.
We set out to explore the village of Mathinna to work out the clues in the competition, many were to break up into different groups and help each other along the way working out the clues. It also gave us the opportunity to see many of the restored houses which looked great and few yet to undergo restoration; in all a nice quiet restful town.

Now that the rain had ceased and the day was warming up we had to shed coats etc along the way, there was plenty of laughter guessing the clues, many stopped at the newsagents and picked up the paper and back to our Rally site where Brian & Jean awaited. Once handed in they were checked and Danny & Kaylene were declared the winners, then it was time for a cuppa and many of the woman went off again to the craft and souvenir shop. There is so much of the history of the town highlighted in photo's and old writing paper along with newspaper cuttings to keep you there for a considerable time.
A few elected to play disc bowls and then it was off to lunch, after lunch John & Jenny went off to pan for gold and others walked down to the river and took in the excellent views. From our campsite we can see waterfalls in the distance and they make a wonderful back drop to the landscape.

Kaylene conducting session

John panning for gold

The men then played disc bowls whilst the woman and a few men attended the Meditation & Relaxation class conducted by Kaylene, again those attending indicated that they thoroughly enjoyed the session staying on talking about the session and generally having a good old chat.

Afternoon session disc bowls

Older section of Mathinna

Old Machinery of Mathinna

Again the craft and souvenir shop was visited and many were to make purchases of goods and souvenirs of the area. Then it was off to visit the older parts of Mathinna and it didn't take long to notice the old machinery and cars that abound in various paddocks. With the weather picking up it was great to stroll about and stop now and again and chat with the local people, they were only to happy to impart information on various camp sites and fishing holes in the area. Ears pricked up when told the location of many of the old gold diggings in the area. We were to have several of the local lads come down and they were intrigued with the concept of disc bowls and it wasn't long before they joined in and had a game or two.

Happy hour arrived and Brian and Jean presented Danny & Kaylene with a block of chocolate each for winning the competition, then the raffle was drawn with many winners. It is good to see that members donate prizes to the raffle which makes it all the more interesting. The acting President thanked those members for their donation and then introduced Chris the local proprietor of the Coffee Shop who was to regale us with the history of the town.
Chris indicated the town was named after an aborigine girl by the name of "Mathinna" and established in the early 1800's.
Gold was what lured settlers to the area and at one time there was a fluctuating population of between 2 to 3 thousand, with five gold mines; the largest petering out in the 1950's, three churches, four hotels and a bustling commercial sector to service the miner's and surrounding farms. Chris was to answer many questions and was thanked for taking time out to address our members as to the history of the area. The community is looking forward to the further interest in gold in the area with the Beaconsfield gold mines taking over the old leases.
A couple went up to the Community Club and many then walked out to the cemetery that Chris had spoken about and explored the very old stones and graves that gave a strong feeling for the town in the early days.
After our evening meal, which many cooked on the club barbecue we sat around chatting and a few members then going on further walks before retiring for the night.
Most of us were woken around 1am on the Sunday morning by very severe winds, which had many folding their awnings in to avoid damage. The result was only one awning was damaged though during the night you could hear the steady patter of rain on our roof.
Many were to arise early for the rain had ceased and you could hear the chatter of various groups saying their farewells as they prepared to travel for home and elsewhere. during the day there was a steady exodus with a few staying on for an extra night.
Another excellent rally and it would be remiss not to thank Brian and Jean, our hosts, for effort they put in to make the rally a success with plenty to do and see. We gather again at New Norfolk for our next rally in November.

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Ladies playing disc bowls	Trivia Competition	Up at the Mathinna Community club


Mathinna Anglican Church	Typical older house awaiting restoration


Kaylene conducting session	John panning for gold	Playing Quoits


Local lads learning disc bowls	Chris outlining history of Mathinna