So on the road to Tumut, five miles south of Gundagai sits this famous statue of a dog on a tuckerbox (lunchbox or equivalent). Its a monument to the pioneers of Australia, those who first travelled into the bush, though quite why a dog on a tuckerbox is a bit of a mystery. Like all good folk-lore, the story varies from person to person whilst the actual origins are all a bit vague on the issue. The original poem by Bowyang Yorke gives little away about why the dog is sitting on the tuckerbox so I'll recount the various stories I've heard. Back in the day the pioneers were crossing a muddy creek south of Gundagai when the wagons got bogged downed, and in an attempt to get them out, the yoke on the wagon broke and poked out the leader's eye (who the leader is I don't know, maybe it was Bullocky Bill, the dog's owner). Anywho, the dog ends up sitting on the tuckerbox, some versions imply that he did worse things to it, some versions say that guarding tuckerboxes was the duty of the dog, and that the dog stayed loyally guarding his master's lunch, even though he was killed, until his own death. Its all a bit strange really, but charming none the less.
Its also fruit growing country, so we picked up some big bags of really fresh apples for not too much. Delicious!
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