Where to get a trombone when you need one

We've continued exploring New England (looking splendid in autumn colours) and from Tenterfield we made our way to the lovely town of Inverell. Inverell is on Kamilaroi country.

There's plenty to see and do in these parts, but without the local knowledge of one of our travelling companions, we'd have missed a couple of the most interesting destinations we've seen so far on this trip.

The first stop on our day trip was the New England Woodturning and Sculptures Gallery in the small (really tiny) hamlet of Gilgai. This place was hidden away in the bush and we'd never have found it without our friends guiding us. The first thing you see when you pull up, is a couple of rusty old cars with bits and pieces of old junk welded together to create a fun sculpture. Then you realise there's a whole paddock full of very clever sculptures created from all sorts of scrap. We had a great time strolling around and encouraging the long-suffering canines to pose in front of various creations.

But it didn't end there. Nestled behind the men's shed (where, presumably, the creativity happens) is the small gallery/gift shop containing all manner of beautifully crafted wooden things. All this is the work of one bloke - Rob Day - who, apart from being very handy with a chisel, clearly has way too much time on his hands.

We parted with a bit of cash in the gift shop and then piled into the car for the next adventure for the day: a visit to the fascinating Wing Hing Long Emporium in the small town of Tingha. We've seen a few general stores in our travels, but this one takes the biscuit. In fact, it sells biscuits among other things. Or at least, it did.

Back in the 1870s Tingha was at the centre of a tin mining boom. And with mining, came Chinese workers. In 1883, a Chinese storekeeper from Inverell named Ah Lin, opened a general store named the Wing Hing Long Emporium to service the mining communities in the region. You could get almost anything you needed in life at the Emporium. Everything from wedding dresses to vegemite; trombones to calendars; buttons to chopsticks. You could get your haircut, have your shoes shined, listen to music, dictate your novel, or sit down to lunch.

The Emporium was owned by a succession of Chinese-Australian storekeepers for over a century. In 1918, Jack Joe (J.J) Lowe, became the fifth owner of the store, which he managed until 1939 when his eldest son, Edgar, took over. In 1951 J.J's daughter, Mavis Pratt, bought the store from her brother and ran the business right up until 1998. When Mavis left the store due to ill health (she was well into her 80s) she walked out and closed the door, leaving all the stock, the account ledgers and the safe, which has never been opened since (perhaps nobody knows where the key is).

The store is now open as a museum, managed faithfully by two very loyal and knowledgeable volunteers. It's been left exactly as it was when Mavis left and you could spend days just wandering around the place. Out the back is the small residence where Mavis and her predecessors lived; and an outdoor toilet for the customers - men's and women's drop dunnies together in one corrugated iron shed. With no door.

The Emporium museum is an eclectic, fascinating and nostalgic place and we thoroughly enjoyed exploring all its nooks and crannies. Sadly, the town of Tingha is in desperate decline, and we worry about what will happen to the Emporium and its contents when the volunteers finally hang up their badges. But until then, we highly recommend a visit if you're in the area.

Here are some photos taken in and around Inverell and our excursion to Gilgai and Tingha. There are a few more photos than usual, but it was hard to choose.