Tenterfield 16 December 2008

Woke up to a crisp, cold morning (overnight min 3deg) and had another look at the early morning sunlight bouncing off the rocks. Drove onto Tenterfield, a small town of about 3,000 people, that had a charm and energy not usually seen in towns this size. They were very proud of their Federation connection – Sir Henry Parkes (their local member) gave the first of his rousing Federation speeches at the School of Arts in 1889 (he also gave one at Kiama, when he was our local member). He was a bit of a character and was called the Member for Where-ever, owing to the large number of seats he occupied during his political career. They now have an impressive museum and theatre devoted to his memory. We walked around the town and enjoyed looking at the many historic buildings. Camped for the night next to a dam on the outskirts of town – very quiet! Lots of beautiful water birds including about hundred black swans.