Benalla

25 November a seniors cricket match was to be held at Benalla between Ringwood and Benalla over 60s teams. On the Saturday morning we received a phone call advising that the game was cancelled due to heavy rain during the week. Having booked accommodation we decided to spend the weekend at Benalla anyway.

Our accommodation for the weekend was at the Rose City Motel approximately one kilometre from the centre of town.

After settling into our room we walked into town to investigate.

Benalla is referred to as Rose City because of the extensive plantings of roses, originally established in 1959, in the Botanical Gardens. There are masses of roses planted in sections with the name of the roses displayed.

The Broken River runs through Benalla. The Art Gallery is situated on one side of the river.

On the opposite bank is the Benalla Historical Society Museum and the Benalla Ceramic Mural.

The image on the side of the museum shows that Benalla is part of Ned Kelly country.

Before going to the motel we called into the information centre for ideas on exploring Benalla. It was obvious from talking to the lady in the information centre that art was a feature of the area.

Throughout the town walls of buildings have been painted by a variety of street artists. The project began in 2015.

Wherever you walk you are aware of these paintings.

It is quiet and peaceful walking by the river on a Saturday afternoon.

Flood markers are on some of the trees near the river banks. At the showgrounds we were surprised to see a large number of parked vehicles with no people around. Apparently this was a parking area for cyclists participating in the Great Victorian Bike Ride.

Bridge over the Broken River.

The streets of Benalla were quiet on the Saturday evening. On the way back to the motel we had dinner at the Bistro of the Royal Hotel and enjoyed a delicious meal of lamb shanks in a wine gravy. A good start to our weekend in Benalla.

Day Two - Benalla and District

Benalla and district

Next morning we wandered back into town and had breakfast at the Rusitik Cafe in Bridge Street. Breakfast is served all day and the difficulty is making a selection from the wide range of food on offer. Robin ordered the big breakfast (which was huge) while I enjoyed the salmon stack. The food was great. We knew that we would not need lunch that day.

Opposite the cafe Christmas decorations were being added to a large tree.

Beneath the trees at each end of the main shopping strip were piles of boxes waiting to be attached to trees.

As this was meant to be a cricket trip we decided to check out the ground where the game would have been played if the rains of the previous few days had not intervened.

The out-field of the Benalla Gardens Cricket Ground was not bad but there was a very wet section near the wicket which had been fenced-off with flags.

It was a beautiful morning, an ideal day for cricket - however it was not to be. We therefore set out to explore Benalla and the surrounding region.

As we were leaving the gardens we passed the impressive band rotunda which was built in 1911.

We had been told of the silo art that was located near Benalla so our first stop was Goorambat where the image of a barking owl looks down at spectators. Another silo building is painted with an image of the habitat of this endangered species.

Leaving Goorambat we stopped at the Uniting Church to view the image of Sophia.

Back in the car we drove to Devenish where new silo art was commissioned to commemorate the centenary of the end of the First World War.

The image on the right is of a World War I nurse while the image on the left is of a woman serving in the army medical forces today. The images were completed for Anzac Day 2018.

The agricultural museum is located next to the silos.

On a Sunday morning, Devenish is very quiet except for the people viewing the silos.

On the way back to Benalla we stopped off to view the Winton Wetlands. The image above is of the wetlands near the boat ramp. It has generally been dry in the area for some time.

There may have been water in other parts of the wetlands but we decided not to explore further on this occasion.

Later in the afternoon we visited friends who live in Benalla - Ron and Sally Taylor.

Ron played cricket with Robin for Bayswater Park many years ago so it was good to catch up with them again.

Later that evening we had dinner again at the Bistro at the Royal Hotel.

Next morning we returned to the Rustik Cafe for a 'small' breakfast before returning to Melbourne. We thoroughly enjoyed our relaxing weekend in Benalla.

Day One - Benalla