We bid farewell to Jerilderie and took to the road to Urana, as small towns go this one was tiny with a population of 384 (could be less now as this was the 2016 census). We set up camp at Freedom Park which is pretty much the sports grounds.
Urana was settled by the Europeans in the 1830'sand raised sheep and sowed wheat and other grains. In the 1850's bush rangers Dan "Mad Dog" Morgan and his accomplice Clarke were in the area and held up Police Magistrate Henry Baylis, based at Wagga, he was in the district to reside over a case in Urana. A few days after Baylis led a party of Policemen to the bush rangers camp, shots were fired and both Baylis and Clarke were wounded. Morgan and Clarke both escaped on this occasion.
The Soldiers Memorial Hall is a combination of three buildings built between 1884 and 1920, The Mechanics Institute, The School of the Arts and the Soldiers memorial Hall, with additional facade work added in 1923. The finishing touches were finalised in 1924 and the town believes it to be the biggest Soldiers Memorial Hall in Australia.
Opposite our camp is a lovely park with a lake when there is no drought, a play area for the kids and undercover BBQ areas. At this park there is also a water tower and it has a sculpture hanging off it called the "Big Spider". The spider was designed and made from scrap metal by a local council worker and budding artist Andrew Whitehead. He built the spider to acknowledge the Urana Football Team, The Spiders. He was also responsible for the sculpture, also made from scrap metal "Toolbox and Jockey" to commemorate 100 years of bush racing.
Urana was settled by the Europeans in the 1830'sand raised sheep and sowed wheat and other grains. In the 1850's bush rangers Dan "Mad Dog" Morgan and his accomplice Clarke were in the area and held up Police Magistrate Henry Baylis, based at Wagga, he was in the district to reside over a case in Urana. A few days after Baylis led a party of Policemen to the bush rangers camp, shots were fired and both Baylis and Clarke were wounded. Morgan and Clarke both escaped on this occasion.
The Soldiers Memorial Hall is a combination of three buildings built between 1884 and 1920, The Mechanics Institute, The School of the Arts and the Soldiers memorial Hall, with additional facade work added in 1923. The finishing touches were finalised in 1924 and the town believes it to be the biggest Soldiers Memorial Hall in Australia.
Opposite our camp is a lovely park with a lake when there is no drought, a play area for the kids and undercover BBQ areas. At this park there is also a water tower and it has a sculpture hanging off it called the "Big Spider". The spider was designed and made from scrap metal by a local council worker and budding artist Andrew Whitehead. He built the spider to acknowledge the Urana Football Team, The Spiders. He was also responsible for the sculpture, also made from scrap metal "Toolbox and Jockey" to commemorate 100 years of bush racing.
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| Alas now closed down |
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| Still going strong |
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