Uralla could be called ‘Thunderbolt’, the old bushranger is a very present presence in the town. The statue of him on a rearing horse outside the Information Centre welcomes you to the town.

His ghost’s presence at the big pile of graffitied granite rocks, beside the highway south of the town, could be imagined if you were looking for a story!

Thunderbolt Rock is not that far from the remnants of the old hotel he frequented and Kentucky Creek where he was shot in 1870.

And he is said to be buried in the towns cemetery near the entrance gate. Officially, his remains were satisfactorily identified but some have suggested it may be his brother. Wickedly, some suggest the grave is actually empty!

Now, we have a similarly posed photo to this taken 50 years ago. The grave hasn’t changed much! Can’t lay my hands on it now but will be adding it to the blog when we return home.

The business area is a collection of generally irregular and stand alone buildings. Makes it an attractive sight. The town also seems busy, it is only 20 km from Armidale. Maybe a suburb of commuters in the making with cheaper housing opportunities.

When in Armidale it was recommended that we try a pie from the ‘Pie Mechanic’, so we did. Allthego went for a Moroccan and Homealone a plain beef one. Hers was a bit sloppy, but the Moroccan was a great flavour. Pastry ok too! But we are currently sticking with that Guyra pie as the best so far, closely followed by the bacon and cheese one in Armidale.

Built in 1870 (the year of Thunderbolt’s death) McCrossin’s Flour Mill has been restored and repurposed as a local museum.

It us very focussed on guess who? Thunderbolt. It does have a range of other historical offerings to look at, including a history of the Chinese in the gold diggings and olden days agricultural equipment.

There is a stuffed effigy of Thunderbolt in a glass case, it is not a mummy.

Some guns that are claimed to have been used by him in a number of the hold-ups.

And an old table on which his body is said to have been laid, some stains on it…..maybe blood?

The best part though is when you enter the museum, the entry area is devoted to a series of paintings by Phillip Pomroy, originally from Wingham and later Taree. The nine paintings, ‘The Death of Thunderbolt’, chronicle the events leading up to Thunderbolt’s death, shot by Constable Walker.

We escaped from Thunderbolt for a short time with a drive of a few kilometres to a little Anglican Church, All Saints Gostwyck at Gostwyck of course.

Photos of the church covered in autumn coloured vine foliage feature in promotional material for the region. I suspect we have missed the colours as the vines all look dead, maybe Spring will revive them?

On the way back to Uralla we witnessed a couple of sheep dogs and a guy on a big tractor like vehicle rounding up a flock of sheep and moving them to a new paddock. Looked a bit like a ‘tornado’ of sheep swirling around not wanting to go where the dogs wanted them to go!

Back at the Van park we settled in for what was to be a chilly night. Heading to Walcha next.