KEY POINTS:
Keith, a volunteer guide in the Rail Journeys Museum in Werris Creek, wants me to read the little story about the time a railway worker encountered a deadly brown snake while working on the tracks. I oblige, then he points to another of the museum volunteers and grins broadly.
"That's the guy in the story," he says, "go and ask him to tell you all about it."
It's this kind of human contact that can make a visit to one of Australia's small rural towns so memorable.
The same thing happens to me further up the road, at Quirindi's Rural Heritage Village. Sandra the guide is more than happy to provide a detailed tour of this community-run attraction. If I had all afternoon, she'd gladly spend it with me, sharing the local history and her own personal memories, bringing the area to life.
I'm in the Liverpool Plains district of north-west New South Wales, where the neighbouring towns of Quirindi, Werris Creek and Wallabadah have all developed relatively new attractions that are testament to their community spirit and memorials to their remarkable histories.
Between them, they make up the core of a fascinating trip to a part of Australia that tourists rarely get to see.
Drive to each attraction and you've got yourself a nice little trip or stay overnight and spend the weekend roaming round this friendly Big Sky Country district.
Back to Werris Creek, the town described as the first and last railway town, meaning it was the first one purpose-built for the rail industry and the last one remaining that is solely reliant on it.
The town's Rail Journeys Museum is a classy, comprehensive record of Australian railway culture, housed in the original refreshment room of the Werris Creek station.
Don't let the word museum put you off - drive past it and you'll have missed out on a unique experience - it doesn't even matter if you don't like trains.
Anyone can enjoy the dreams inspired by the museum's reminders of railway yesterdays. My specific train memory came with seeing the little printed cardboard tickets, usually green or yellow, from the time way back in the 1970s when I travelled from Sydney's Central Station to rural NSW for a camp. Ah, those were the days.
Of course, if you are a train enthusiast you'll be in heaven at the museum. There's a myriad of train paraphernalia here: signals, uniforms, log books, short films, photos and stories, refreshment menus and schedules.
But the best feature is the fact that the museum is staffed by ex-railway workers. Ask them questions, let them tell you a story or two, and you'll both be rewarded.
Adjoining the museum is the Australian Railway Monument, a memorial to railway workers killed while on duty. Dominique Sutton's six metallic sculptures of the rail workers seem to stand guard over the walls where the names of the dead are listed.
Head back into Quirindi and start with a walk through town where, if you look down, you'll see the district's original cattle stock brands imprinted into sandstone pavers on the footpath. It is a unique way to share the local history, for this is a town built by cattle.
Among the cafes, restaurants and pubs in the main street, there's a reminder of a different side of the history in the Yinarrs (meaning aboriginal women) Classic Black Coffee Lounge, owned by the Quirindi Aboriginal Corporation. This offers not only traditional Australian fare but some distinctive Aboriginal cuisine.
You can get a geographical perspective on the town by stopping at the Who'd A Thought It lookout, which provides panoramic views of the Liverpool Plains.
Just 3km out of town is the Rural Heritage Village, a place lovingly maintained and promoted by the local folks intent on preserving their history.
Outdoors, there's farm equipment and machinery, a miniature railway, vehicles and steam engines. Inside, there are displays of Aboriginal artefacts, kitchen utensils, clothing, domestic appliances, office equipment and pharmacy items.
Each May, the village hosts a vintage machinery Rally and Swap Meet, an extraordinarily popular event that brings people and machines from all over Australia.
Quirindi is known as Australia's home of polo and has a big reputation for equine sports. The Quirindi Jockey Club hosts several race meetings each year and, if you find yourself in town on New Year's Day, the Picnic Races in nearby Wallabadah are an absolute tradition. The first picnic races were held there in 1852.
Wallabadah is a little spot on the New England Highway 16km east of Quirindi that now has a good reason for people to stop there. It is the home of a garden memorial to Australia's First Fleet, built by the descendant of a First Fleet convict, Ray Collins.
Ray, a stonemason, took his idea of such a garden to 10 councils over the space of 20 years until finally, Liverpool Plains Shire Council agreed to let him construct it in Wallabadah.
The name of every convict, seaman and child in the fleet is recorded, ship by ship. It's a moving reminder of the beginnings of modern Australia.
GETTING THERE
Quirindi is 360km northwest of Sydney.
SPECIAL EVENTS
The Quirindi Cup Race Day is on February 22, the Quirindi Bullride on February 23. The 10th Anniversary Rally and Swap Meet is on May 3-8.
MORE INFORMATION
For about the district see www.visitquirindi.com.au or phone (02) 6746 1096.
