Birthplace of Federation

As forecast, it was cloudy when we woke and much colder than previous days.  We rugged up with extra layers, and after a quick stop at the bakery for lunch supplies, headed along the lake and out of town.  We picked up the bike path at Kyffins Reserve.  The sun emerged and it was lovely cycling along the lake foreshore with lots of water views.   

We stopped for morning tea on the boardwalk which had some dedicated seating.  We lingered a while, chatting to another cyclist who had left her husband working back at their motel.  Soon we left the lake behind us, though the cycle paths continued, occasionally running beside the road.  

There were a few turnoffs to the Collendina Nature Reserve, and we took the last one to find a spot on the Murray River for lunch.  It was deserted as we perched on an embankment above the river overlooking fallen trees.  

It was only another 10 kilometres or so into Corowa and we timed our arrival to check in just before 2pm.  After a quick cup of tea, we crossed the road to the Federation Museum, eager to learn more about the role that Corowa played in this momentous event.  

The Museum provided a detailed timeline of the events leading up to Federation, and the key players involved. The political push to create a federation of states had waned ahead of the 1893 Corowa Conference which revived the federation movement by turning it into a people’s movement.  Being a border town, Corowa was tired of the tariffs imposed on goods crossing the border into Victoria.  

Proposed by Dr John Quick, the Corowa Plan suggested that future Federation conference delegates should be elected by the people, rather than be government representatives, and that they should draw up a constitution that would be taken to the people through a referendum. Though it didn’t pass first time, after some modifications, the Australian people supported the proposed constitution, leading to the creation of the Federation of Australia in 1901.

The Museum also had an exhibition dedicated to Tom Roberts as his painting “Shearing of the Rams” was painted at Corowa from sketches and drawings he made in the shearing shed of Brocklesby Station. Owned by one of his relatives, Roberts first visited the station for a wedding, and liked it so much that he returned, spending time sketching in the shed whilst the shearers worked around him.  

It was well worth our $5 entry fee and we took our time walking down the Main Street, following the history trail and learning more about the historic buildings. Soon we were starting to get cold so picked up some dinner supplies and returned to our little Airbnb cottage for hot showers and dinner.  It is forecast to drop to 1 degree overnight so autumn has finally arrived.