We woke to another overcast day and this time the clouds did not blow away during the day. It remained overcast all day. It even sprinkled lightly with rain in the afternoon. Not enough to make anything wet, just a sprinkle. It was the perfect day for reading a book so that’s what we did.

The Campgound had emptied out of campers in the morning. We were almost here on our own. In the afternoon we were joined by an older couple in a van on one side and a young family with two little boys on the other. We were not alone for long!

So let me tell you a little about Dunns Swamp. How did it get that name? It has been known for thousands of years by the local indigenous language group, the Dabee, part of the larger Wiradjuri tribe, as Ganguddy. So how did it go from Ganguddy to Dunns Swamp?

Dunns Swamp was created by the damming of the Cudgegong River in the 1920’s. The Cudgegong River is the only one rising the Wollomi National Park that drains to the west and eventually makes its way to join the Macquarie River near Wellington. Interestingly, it forms part of the Murray Darling Basin that our home town of Griffith is part of.

Prior to the construction of the dam wall the river with its many deep pools was a popular place for Wiradjuri people and there is evidence of the Dabee living in the area for thousands of years.

Mt Durambang was formerly known as Dunns Mountain after a local white settler family. The creek that flowed down the mountain was known as Dunns Mountain Creek. The creek had a series of swamps on the lower end before the water made its way into the Cudgegong River. They were known as Dunns Mountain Swamp. The waterway created by the damming of the river then became known as Dunns Swamp. Dunns Mountain Creek is now called Ganguddy Creek.

After a relaxing day reading our books Rich got our camp fire going and we enjoyed drinks and nibbles outside under the awning while we waited for our Shepherds Pie to cook in the oven.

Our new neighbours invited us over after dinner and we took our chairs over and enjoyed getting to know Alwin and Anna from Coffs Harbour.