ALBANY VINTAGE & CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE CLUB

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April 2018 Club News

2018 Old Bike Ride | Old Pix | Walmsley | Toolbrunup | Indian | NZ | Cheynes | Frenchman | Membership | Calendar

Toolbrunup School Ride

The 2018 class at the School, naughty kids at the back, Chester got his hand up - wants to use the dunny, most probably for a smoke like the old days.
We've been trying to get to this school for a while, I think this is the third attempt. There is some disagreement as to whether it is Pootenup or Toolbrunup School, google it and it comes up as Toolbrunup, but you can make up your own mind.

But today around 20 members turned up on the day to find the school even though thunderstorms were threatened by the weather bureau.

It was good to see Gerald and Josie from Kulin with Colin and Yvonne out for the day, as well as Murray (of small ball bearing company fame - ask him about it), Paul who was down from Balingup and new member Joe was on his first Sunday ride, although he’d been on a few of the popular Wednesday ones.

We rode off in lovely weather to the Bluff Knoll cafe where Glen was waiting to meet us. The cafe was doing well, taking orders, making the coffee with little fuss and efficiently.

After a while we headed off to Gnowangerup, losing a few of the group on the way who had to return home.
There was certainly a lot of threatening clouds around, but we really only got a small amount of rain.
At Gnowangerup the bikes were all jammed in the shed at the roadhouse to keep them dry, but it stopped drizzling when we were there.

At Gnowangerup roadhouse the bikes are all undercover in case they get wet with no room for the riders who were left outside, nothing worse that a wet seat.
Garry Taylor was leading the group to the Pootenup School using the system of the second rider waits on the corner until tail end charlie arrives, in this case Ross. And it worked well.

It was the first time I’d been along the Gnowangerup - Tambellup Road, as well as Toolbrunup Road and Pootenup Road. They’re good roads with some nice bends as well as good views of the Stirlings in particular.

School, watertank and to the right - dunny.
The school isn’t signposted and without some local knowledge from Garry Taylor it would be difficult to find.
It was a one-teacher school, built in 1903 and expanded in 1918. It must have been a small expansion! It closed in 1948 and it's amazing that it hasn’t been vandalised, still having desks, blackboard and even photos on the wall.

"Kids" emerging from the Pootenup School.
Glen was saying that the local Volunteer Fire Brigade use it once a year and keep an eye on the place. Maybe because its so hard to find that it's in such a good state.

Kim needed some electrical ties to hold his bike together.
After lunch we left for home. We did cop a shower riding through Cranbrook, but after that the sun appeared, drying us out.

Chester with hand up again.
Thanks Garry Taylor for organising the ride, it was a great day and thanks Ross for being “Tail End Charlie”.
Chester got a hundred lines for failing to bring his lunch box home from school, some things never change ha ha.

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