Saturday arrived and we pointed the nose of the truck to Echuca, we stayed five days here and there was a very good reason for do this. While we were at Woomelang John experienced some feelings of lightness in the head. When we pulled into camp at Rotary Park and started setting up the feelings returned, after another episode on Sunday he decided he needed to see a doctor. We went into town to the medical centre only to be told they were fully booked until Thursday and suggested we go to the Emergency department at the Hospital. After a two hour wait we got in to see Dr Rifat Rifat, not a bad guy, talked to us for about half an hour after he got the results from John being wired up for five minutes and told John his blood pressure was a bit high. He prescribed some pills and would see him tomorrow. Tomorrow came, Griffo said he didn't need me to go with him to the docs and dropped me off in town, so like all good wives I went shopping, due to the sudden freezing conditions I got a nice extremely warm jacket.
The towns name is an Aboriginal word meaning "meeting of waters", Echuca is close to the junction of the Goulburn, Campaspe, and Murray Rivers. Since we were between appointments we did the tourist thing and went to the Echuca Discovery Centre and froze but in doing so we learnt a lot of the history of Echuca and how by the 1870's it had risen to prominence as Australia's largest inland port. Due to its close proximity to Melbourne and the arrival of the railway, Echuca was both a key river port and railway junction. The wharf that had been built was a 400 metre long and entirely made of red gum, the paddle steamers unload the cargo of wool, wheat, livestock and timber to be transported to Melbourne. The expansion of the railway, improvements to roads, fickle river conditions lessened Echuca's importance, by the 1890's an economic depression and the collapse of several banks virtually ended the towns role as a major economic centre and its population began to disperse.
The filming of the 1984 mini series All the Rivers Run starring Sigrid Thornton and John Waters, scenes were filmed in and around Echuca. The local paddle steamers PS Pevensey and PS Emmylou featured in the show. The airing of this mini series around Australia and internationally revitalised Echuca's tourism economy.
We had lunch at the Beechworth Bakery and had a Ned Kelly Pie, a meat pie with bacon, cheese and a cooked egg on top, some thing different this came with a bottomless coffee mug, good for me not so for John with the high blood pressure and all.
Wednesday came and John got wired up to a heart and blood pressure monitor and had to wear it give or take for 24 hours. It was removed the next day and we left to go to Happy Jacks Recreational Reserve just a 20 minute drive to Bendigo's St. John of God Hospital where John was booked in for a Stress Test the next day. The doc on duty was happy with the results and we were free to leave.
The port is now home to the largest paddle steamer collection in the world, which includes the world's oldest operating wooden hulled paddle steamer, the PS Adelaide built in 1866.
The towns name is an Aboriginal word meaning "meeting of waters", Echuca is close to the junction of the Goulburn, Campaspe, and Murray Rivers. Since we were between appointments we did the tourist thing and went to the Echuca Discovery Centre and froze but in doing so we learnt a lot of the history of Echuca and how by the 1870's it had risen to prominence as Australia's largest inland port. Due to its close proximity to Melbourne and the arrival of the railway, Echuca was both a key river port and railway junction. The wharf that had been built was a 400 metre long and entirely made of red gum, the paddle steamers unload the cargo of wool, wheat, livestock and timber to be transported to Melbourne. The expansion of the railway, improvements to roads, fickle river conditions lessened Echuca's importance, by the 1890's an economic depression and the collapse of several banks virtually ended the towns role as a major economic centre and its population began to disperse.
The filming of the 1984 mini series All the Rivers Run starring Sigrid Thornton and John Waters, scenes were filmed in and around Echuca. The local paddle steamers PS Pevensey and PS Emmylou featured in the show. The airing of this mini series around Australia and internationally revitalised Echuca's tourism economy.
We had lunch at the Beechworth Bakery and had a Ned Kelly Pie, a meat pie with bacon, cheese and a cooked egg on top, some thing different this came with a bottomless coffee mug, good for me not so for John with the high blood pressure and all.
Wednesday came and John got wired up to a heart and blood pressure monitor and had to wear it give or take for 24 hours. It was removed the next day and we left to go to Happy Jacks Recreational Reserve just a 20 minute drive to Bendigo's St. John of God Hospital where John was booked in for a Stress Test the next day. The doc on duty was happy with the results and we were free to leave.
The port is now home to the largest paddle steamer collection in the world, which includes the world's oldest operating wooden hulled paddle steamer, the PS Adelaide built in 1866.
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