Crookwell Sox
12 November 2020 / Words: Norm & Ros Barker. Photos: Rod & Maryanne Nicholas, Norm & Ros Barker
Wednesday 4 November 2020
On a beautiful day 11 cars gathered for a briefing at the Hall lay-by. Some members had not seen each other for some time and the greetings were more excited than usual. The run to the Hume near Yass was an easy drive with very little traffic. The convoy kept together well and the couple of new members appreciated the easy pace. On the Hume, the green growth in all the pastures and the clear air was a delight.
Turning off the Hume we entered the little township of Gunning, which is now on the old Hume Highway. There is a very nice café in the middle of town but we didn’t have time to stop and pressed on towards Crookwell. Maybe that can be a stop for another run. The road then went through Grabben Gullen, which is a picturesque drive, with many historic homesteads along the way, and also along this route we passed a number of wind generators on the top of the ridges.
Crookwell is an 1820’s pastoral settlement and is a centre which services the surrounding area. One of the attractions in the town is the Lindner Quality Sock factory which we had arranged to visit. This is a small family-owned business and produces high quality socks using locally produced Merino, Cotton and Alpaca. The sock knitting machines are antique dating back to the 1800’s. Andrew Lindner gave a demonstration and explanation of the process and many were so impressed by the quality of the socks that they purchased some. The opportunity was taken to have morning tea in the café which is a very good place to stop. There is a car restoration business in Crookwell also (Sydney Car Restorations) but due to the restrictions of Covid they were unable to support visits at this time.
Having supported the local Crookwell economy, we made for Goulburn, stopping just out of town at the Wind Generator Viewing area at an impressive altitude of about 950 m above sea level. The original 8 Turbines were commissioned in 1998 and each turbine has a 5 MW capacity with the 8 generating 8GWh/year. They originally had a life of 20 years but with good maintenance and upgrades of new technology they are expected to continue long past this time. On to Goulburn and it was great to see all the dams full and the grass and crops waving in the wind.
On arrival at Goulburn the popular vote was for lunch at the RSL Club. We were nicely greeted and had a very enjoyable lunch served by friendly staff.
The return journey took us out of Goulburn on the Braidwood road. As we passed Wakefield Park there were some cars on the circuit but time didn’t permit a stop there. At Tarago we turned right to Bungendore. Tarago is a little village with a school, a pub and a few houses. At Bungendore we turned right onto the Sutton Rd and then up the hill at the end of Lake George which is now half full. At Macs Reef Rd we turned left and out to the Federal Highway. Everyone made their own way home from here.
A great day out was had by all and hopefully next time we may be able to visit the Car Restoration place.
Report and Photos Norm Barker
Additional photos by Rod & Maryanne Nicholas
You can access some photos by Rod Nicholas here.
