Armidale is a small city of some 26,000 people and was established after colonisation in 1846. It is primarily an agricultural service town but also features a strong educational and arts sector, centred on the University of New England.

We are here for three days in a spacious van park on the edge of town. What to do in three days is the question?

To get a flavour of the place we decided to have a look around the close to town historical and colonial landmarks.

Saumarez House stood out in this regard. Located about 8 km out of the city this is a must see in Armidale.

This colonial mansion was built from the late 1870s on a grazing property that had been established in the 1840s. The White family across three generations built the property in stages and completed it in 1906. The White family were from the Hunter Valley and were a dynasty that were movers and shakers in pastoral properties.

A decedent is Patrick White the Australian writer, baby boomers would probably have studied at least one of his books in High School during the 1960/70s. Allthego laboured through Voss and the Aunts Story!

The numerous family members held many properties across NSW, QLD and the NT. Francis White and his wife built Saumarez, they had 7 children. One of them Elsie, she never married, lived there nearly her entire life dying in 1987 in a nursing home at the age of 97.

The family had gifted the property to the National Trust in 1984. The house has been left as it was, a living museum of some 100 plus years of pastoral life from 1870 to 1980. We had a guided wander through the houses numerous rooms and later gardens for nearly two hours. Quite a story and eye opener.

To get some energy back we then headed to a pie shop for lunch. Continuing the search for the pie of the trip. The Information Centre suggested we try Moxon’s Bakery, so we did. Cheese and bacon, not bad and better than the same variety we had earlier in Casino. It was hot too!

Following lunch we drove around some of the other outlying historical buildings, a little less dramatic, guided by a tourist brochure.

Ended up back at the van for dinner after a long day.

The following morning Allthego went into the CBD to have a look at some of the buildings from the 1800s and early 1900s. Homealone decided to lurk at the van in the sunshine with some craft in hand.

The Catholic and Anglican churches were two of the earliest substantial buildings. Quite impressive sitting on high ground looking back towards the CBD.

The older hotels and government buildings have been well preserved, the iron lacework on verandahs stands out. There is then a contrast of the old building adornments with the new, numerous murals. These predominately depict wildlife, wildflowers and historical moments.

Allthego returned to the van from this short walk a little later than planned, about 1 o’clock in time for lunch and feet up.

Armidale is known for its regional art museum and its collection of material from the 1800s and early 1900s. These collections arose from major donors and form the back bone of the works they have on hand. We paid a short visit to get our dose of culture. There was an awful (or that’s what Allthego thought, he was probably wrong) exhibition of large format dark abstract stuff to contrast with the traditional art. Not Allthego’s scene!

Back to the van to prepare for some real culture over a pizza dinner at the Welder’s Dog craft brewery. Had to book and as well we did, the place was full of locals.

Mostly youngsters, but a few oldies like us to enjoy some rounds of Musical Bingo.

You had to identify a song from a musical snippet and then cross it off the bingo sheet, we only ever crossed off 4 or 5 from the 16 needed. Some original prizes too, the standout being the meat tray from Coles. It was a stack of devon, a loaf of sliced bread and a squeeze bottle of tomato sauce. We didn’t win it, but an entertaining evening.

We are off out into the wild next time!