Serenity Sundays - The Mary Valley Scenic Drive And The Seven Steps To Serenity

Sunday Drivers Rejoice!

The details are on the link attached to the photos, but this is the most wonderful way to feel alive and a great reminder of what we have at our fingertips!

Image Courtesy of the Australian (This would have been gone if the Traveston Dam had not been stopped)

My recipe for happiness on this adventure is:

1. Duck out and fill up the car using one of the petrol finder apps (otherwise there will be less serenity ha) - then "let it go"......

2. Pack up a picnic - folding chairs or a blanket are fine, but a marquis is handy depending on what you find. For the budget-minded make sure you pack a thermos or cold drinks, too. Towels and togs maybe? There are lots of creeks on this drive if you are fearless.

3. Put the starting point in your Bluetooth, or just wing it (more fun)

Image Courtesy Of Stayz

4. Pack puppy too, if you have one, along with the lead and a water bowl, and treats for being good.

5. Commence drive at the top point (or bottom point if coming from the North), and then work your way back to home, ensuring you stop at every gorgeous spot until one just sucks you in for your picnic.


6. Remember to check out the produce stands when you come across them. Often organic and usually inexpensive - you may even encounter one of the old "honesty" boxes....

7. Wind the windows down and inhale the bush smell!

Sleep like a baby tonight - why? Because these sort of activities always get you thinking about what matters in life and what changes you need to make to become much happier - take the time on this trip to either chat with your other half about what matters, or give yourself the time to really focus.

Kenlworth - Did You Know?

History Of Kenilworth (Info Courtesy of Wikipedia)

 

The Mary River was known to the Aboriginals as the Numabulla and the name for the Kenilworth area being Hinka Booma. In 1842 Andrew Petrie named the river as the Wide Bay River. In 1847 that Governor Fitzroy renamed the river after his wife Mary.

Image Courtesy Of Qld.com

 Richard Joseph Smith tendered to set up the first cattle run on the east bank of the Mary River in 1850. At the time Mrs Smith was reading Sir Walter Scott's novel "Kenilworth" and she decided to name the property after the novel. The town was surveyed and split off Kenilworth Station in 1921 and took the name of the Station. During the second half of the 19th Century, the Smiths took up more land. 

Other settlers arrived in 1891 originally intending to grow small crops. There was a ready market at the goldfields in Gympie but after the floods of 1893, 1895 and 1898 had wiped out their crops, most ventured into dairying and pig breeding. In 1901 the Kenilworth Farmers' Association was formed and in 1907 they built the Kenilworth Farmers Assembly Hall. This later housed a library and hosted dances. In 1905 the Association was responsible for establishing a co-operative butter factory which opened in Caboolture in 1907. 

Also established was the Kenilworth Farmers' Co-operative Store in Eumundi. In 1912 a steam-powered sawmill was built on Coolabine Creek. In 1921 Kenilworth Station was sold off and divided into dairy farms and allotments. By 1925 all the large estates in the district had been subdivided and sold. Today dairying is still a major part of farming in the area but there has been diversification into fruit and vegetables and pig farming. 

Kenilworth Post Office opened by 1926 (a receiving office had been open from 1896).
 
The first store was opened in Kenilworth on 2 January 1924 as well as the new hall opening and the first butcher's shop appeared in 1925. Kenilworth Provisional School built by the community opened on 22 January 1900. This school became a State School on 1 January 1909. (This school was in the locality now known as Gheerulla).
 
Kenilworth Township was opened in the Kenilworth Hall on 21 October 1924. The hall, in 1926, was equipped to show silent pictures. The site for a public recreation ground was purchased in 1927 and in 1933, the Public Hall was moved to this new location. The Church of England Mary Valley Parish was established in 1925. 

The Kenilworth Library opened in 1986 with a major refurbishment in 2000.
At the 2006 census, Kenilworth had a population of 238.

Image Courtesy Of Kenilworth Dairies