Day 3 - Monday 19 March - Bulahdelah to Gloucester - 89.8km
Next stop will be the lovely inland town of Gloucester with even more spectacular scenery as we head onto Wingham.
About Gloucester
Situated in a picturesque valley on the Gloucester River, the town of Gloucester is a beautiful setting. The town is bounded to the west by a range of unusual hills called “The Bucketts”- from an aboriginal word buccans meaning ‘Big rocks’. The Bucketts make a perfect backdrop to our campsite at Gloucester District Park.
History
Robert Dawson, Chief Agent for the Australian Agricultural Company - first visited the Gloucester district or the A.A. Company, as it was generally known as - in 1826. Settlement occurred in the 1830's. It was not until 1855 that the township of Gloucester was established. The land was first used for raising sheep but it soon became obvious that climatic conditions were unsuitable for such a venture. Today cattle, dairy farming, timber and also tourism have become the major industries in the area. In 1876 gold was discovered at Copeland, northwest of Gloucester Township. Copeland grew to nearly 3,000 people - all looking for their fortune in gold - but from 1882 onwards yields and population dropped. Today, Copeland is seeing new life as the Mountain Maid Mine has been redeveloped as a tourist attraction. It was in the early 1900s that building and industry developed in Gloucester. The School of Arts was built in 1904 and was shortly followed by the newspaper (the "Gloucester Advocate") in 1905, which is still being published today.
Pubs
There are two pubs located in Gloucester - Avon Valley Inn and Roundabout Inn.
They have already been informed of our visit and are looking forward to meeting us on the 19th.
More information
Manning Valley Tourism and the Manning Area National Parks and Wildlife Service will be at the Gloucester District Park, next to the Big Bike Ride Info Tent to provide tourism displays and talks on the area and to inform riders of what’s happening in and around Wingham on the rest day.
4.30pm-5pm: National Parks Manning Area Manager, Kevin Carter will be providing an informative 30 minute talk and powerpoint presentation on the National Park areas of the Manning Valley.
