Kevtoberfest #5 Cassilis
After leaving Tamworth later than we planned, our scheduled stop at Mudgee was out of reach. Instead of pushing on in darkness, we stopped for the night at a small campground outside the village of Cassilis. Across the road was a field of canola, its golden glow almost iridescent in the late afternoon light.
Next to the campground stood a small country church. It may have only been little more than 100 years old but, having withstood the harsh seasonal extremes of central New South Wales for more than a century, the church was showing its age. From the rusted iron gates to the weather-worn sign, the Anglican Church of St Columba of Iona looked as if it had been there for much longer.
Some of the older headstones in the churchyard had seen better days, while more recent ones showed signs of loving attention.
As afternoon became evening, the fading light accentuated the weathered stone of this sacred building.
Weekly Photo Challenge ~ Weathered
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hee hee, I was thinking ooh she’s in the Midlands when I read Tamworth, then I thought Mudgee never heard of that. Silly me!! Of course you are in NSW 🙂
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It’s funny when we go to UK, we see place names and say, “Oh, we’ve got one of those too”. Of course, many places were named by settlers who wanted reminders of their home towns. Others, like my city, have names derived from indigenous words or place names.
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😀
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Me too, BeckyB. I used to live just outside Tamworth. 🙂
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Tricked you both! 🙂
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Phew not just me then!!
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Ha ha! There might be more tricky place names coming up!
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I could follow your drift on this one. 🙂 🙂 Don’t talk to Becky about the weather. It’s apparently bouncing in the Algarve. 😦
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She might prefer that to the temperatures we’ve been having. Yesterday was 38 C, overnight minimum was 24 and today should be relatively cool at only 31!
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I love that you found something to share in an unscheduled stop. I had quite the emotional reaction when I saw the name of the church. I have in years past spent some meaningful days on Iona (plus a family folklore attempt to get there in my childhood that didn’t come off) and have a definite soft spot for St Columba. Thank you for those accidental memories. 🙂
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I’m so pleased you enjoyed this story, Mosy. Perhaps your connection to Iona would make an interesting post of your own. 🙂 We love pottering around old cemeteries so it was an added bonus when we stopped here. We almost had dinner at the tiny bowls club next door, except the only thing on the menu that was actually available was frozen pizza!
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Sometimes it’s good to stop and smell the roses (or the canola). We never know what weathered treasures we’ll find. Lovely.
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We had too far to go to reach Mudgee and we were concerned about hitting roos on the road. The campground was very basic but had everything we needed, including power, and it turned out to be a lovely place to stop for the night.
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Very nice, and the light in that last photo is particularly beautiful.
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Thank you. By the time I took that last photo, the sun had nearly set.
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I’ve never seen slanting gravestones like that. I wonder if it is still used much?
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I didn’t see any recent headstones, Lorraine. The slant on the headstones has been caused by subsidence in the soil. It was so dry, but if there was heavy rain the soil would move quite a bit.
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I would love to prowl around the churchyard and look at the headstones. It must be full of history. A shame no-one is taking care of it though.
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I noticed the sign said there were fortnightly services, but I did wonder if that was still the case. There is probably no one around to take care of the cemetery. It was so dry too after no rain all winter, and having no grass doesn’t help the appearance. There was one particularly moving headstone, for twin baby girls who died a few months apart in 1905. Such devastation for their parents.
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That is sad. No community left around there then?
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I think there are around 300 people living in nearby Cassilis but who knows how many actually attend that church.
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I read the title and thought “she’s not talking about Mr ET, surely!” Because having seen his photos, he’s clearly not! (Neither are you of course Carol, you young-looking pair!).
It’s a shame this place looks rather rundown.
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Oh Denzil, you’re such a nice man! 🙂
As far as the condition of the church yard goes, I suspect like so many small country towns the population isn’t enough to maintain it adequately.
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Loved the golden canola. The only time I’ve actually seen that is when we visited Holland and we saw fields and fields of it on the way to see the tulips. It is beautiful. 🙂
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When the sun is shining, it’s almost fluorescent.
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Sometimes you find such gems when you have to have an unscheduled stop. I love the way the light falls
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I was quite dubious when I saw how basic the campsite was, but it turned out to be fine and the lovely old church was a real bonus. It was a very peaceful place too, right off the highway.
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I always think if the bricks and stones could tell their tales in places like these what a book it would be. Lovely lighting as the sun fades.
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There would be some interesting stories for sure.
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That is quite a substantial church but the graveyard is a sad place
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The lack of grass after winter didn’t help its appearance.
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What a lovely find, Carol. Such a pretty church and in very picturesque surroundings. 🙂
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The campsite was so basic, I had some misgivings. But it turned out to be quite fine and the church was a bonus. 🙂
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Love the remote feel of this place. We anchored off Newcastle while sailing there but never made it that far inland. Lovely to visit through your images and words.
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It did feel quite remote, especially once it got dark. The stars were brilliant. Glad you enjoyed this post, Lisa.
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Our travel team has been to Australian 3 times by now and will go again… stunning insights here! Regards
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So pleased you enjoyed it. A place like this wouldn’t be on any international tourist’s list. 🙂
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Very interesting post in my eyes. I started my digital photographing by shooting first churches outside. Then I went inside and found gorgeous art, altars, chandeliers, pulpits. Finally I visited graveyards and I did found there history and art again. Some churches offered for a visitor Votive ships inside churches and unique historic wooden Poorman-statues.
Slowly my eyes were opened to observe surroundings. Thank You for this great post and its beautiful photos.
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I find churches fascinating. There is so much of interest inside and out. I’m so glad you enjoyed this post, Matti.
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I love old churches with attached graveyards. They provide great history, and great insight to the area.
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We do too. The headstones sometimes tell interesting stories.
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I love that little weathered church. I wonder if people do still attend, especially as you say some parts of the cemetery are neglected. The heat sounds miserable. I’d love to see a picture of your camping setup. 🙂
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I suspect services are still held there on a regular basis, but probably not weekly. The minister would have hours of driving if he went to each church. I’ll see if I can find a photo of the caravan for you.
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I look forward to seeing it! I love the caravan idea. 🙂
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you can tell that there is character and history in this church:)
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It was an interesting place to visit.
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