south australia: napperby

For as long as I can remember my family 

spoke of my grandmother's uncle, Cyril, who enlisted at the outbreak of World War One and was killed on ANZAC Day at Gallipoli at the age of 22. My grandmother's mother, his sister, was only one and a half years old when he died. 

This photograph of Cyril atop a camel in Egypt was displayed in my grandmother's home. (It turns out that copies were sent home and distributed to each of Cyril's siblings from Cyril himself in Christmas 1914).  

Leading up to the centenary of the Gallipoli landings a group of West Australians made it their mission to identify each of the West Australian soldiers who died at Gallipoli. They have also identified many of the men of the 11th Battalion who were photographed at the pyramid in Cheops. Cyril is #587. 

Articles have been published in the newspapers and, as a result, more family has come out of the woodwork. Who would have thought that, one hundred years on my great, great uncle's death could bring the family's branches all together? It's been particularly overwhelming for my cousin, who now lives in Switzerland, as she has recorded  so much of our family history & genealogy. 

This photo surfaced in an old album and the people have been identified as the grandparents of Cyril at the Napperby Store. My cousin flicked this photo to me so that I might be able to visit the town. As it happened Napperby was a short detour for us - not far inland from Port Pirie. 

It only took a few minutes to drive through the streets of small town of Napperby. We found a playground and set about getting lunch together when a local, Bob, pulled up asking if we needed help. 

I showed Bob the photo and, intrigued as he was, he stayed a while and we discussed the history of Napperby and its townsfolk. Obviously we didn't expect the Napperby Store to exist nowadays but Bob suggested some of the older folk in town might recognise others in the photographs - and may well have photos of my family too. 

Bob is now on a mission! And it's pretty exciting for us!! 

south australia: fleurieu

Every day is a new adventure when you're on the road. You can plan ahead (we don't really) but you just don't know where the day will take you. 

Remember we mentioned staying at Old Mac's Farm in Launceston? It was there that we met a lovely couple who were travelling with a group of friends. They mentioned that their son loved with his family on the Fleurieu peninsula in South Australia and to drop in when we were in the neighbourhood. 

Well we got in touch with Andrew and he put us up for the night - in his olive grove! Andrew runs a small business - Seaview Grove Olive Oil - and runs a few cows on his property. When he and his wife bought the farm from the previous owner they'd initially thought they'd take out the hundreds of olive trees because they hadn't been a successful crop. 

We obviously talked about the amazing produce available in the Fleurieu and it was pleasing to hear so many small producers were getting their goods out there allowing people to buy fresh and local. It's a exciting time in the area. 

Andrew has done his research and has packaged his olive oil in casks. These casks ensures that the unused olive oil doesn't not come in to contact with air keeping it fresher anymore nutritious for longer. 

Not only that but Andrew can boast that he's selling a tasty all-rounder oil - beautiful for cooking and great for with bread and dukkah. It's also grown organically and is really reasonably priced $15 for a litre cask and is available online. Postage is free for orders over $40.  

http://www.seaviewgrove.com.au

Those gnarly old branches of the olive are beautiful. And the colour of their leaves. They aren't a showy plant for one that has so much to offer. 

It was a pretty amazing camp for the night and waking up with views to the ocean was special. Thanks again for having us!