On Sunday the 4th July, a number of people enjoyed a delicious four course meal for Goat Rock’s annual Christmas in July celebrations.  Locals and visitors alike booked in, with a Brisbane family visiting the area dropping in on the day to join the festivities.  The day turned out to be a gorgeous sunny winter’s day, after a great frost!  

Piping hot soups, roast beef, roast pork, roast turkey, baked ham and baked vegetables were on the menu as well as the traditional favourites, plum pudding and custard, pavlova and trifle for dessert.  The meal was enjoyed under a roof of snowflakes and surrounded by decorated Christmas Trees with a background of Christmas Carols.  All who attended had a fantastic time with most staying til late in the afternoon.  All guests received a small snowflake memento to commemorate Goat Rock’s annual transformation into a winter wonderland.

Easter has come and gone for another year and there was plenty to keep you occupied at Goat Rock over the Easter Holidays.  There were a number of campers but still plenty of space for that much sought after peace and quiet.  We hope that everyone enjoyed their time at Goat Rock and we will see them all again!  There was plenty of great feedback with everyone agreeing what a great place Goat Rock is.

The Shindig @ The Shed went off with a bang! Codey Hodges and Nic Baker – the young duo from Inverell entertained the crowd with country favorites plus some of their own material.  For a couple of young guys just starting out they were fantastic!  We hope to see them at Goat Rock in the future.  Dinner, as always was superb, thanks to Vicki and the girls!  Our great food is one of the reasons people keep coming back! 

Easter Sunday Brunch was a great way to catch up and feed the family!  There was plenty of breakfast as well as Easter Eggs!  The all time favourite, corn fritters disappeared quickly!  With demands from the regulars that they have to be made next year when they come back to Texas for Easter!!

There are plenty of upcoming functions at Goat Rock so keep an eye out!

Goat Rock have created a Cafe Press Shop to enable Goat Rock fans to purchase fantastic Goat Rock products.  Cafe Press uses quality products and premium printing processes for fantastic images.  Everyone loves having mementos of their great holidays, so why not remember your great experience at Goat Rock with some of our Goat Rock merchandise. 

Goat Rock merchandise include T-Shirts, Golf Shirts, Caps, Singlets, Water Bottles and Mugs – all with the Goat Rock logo.  The SIGG water bottle is made from a single piece of aluminum with an EcoCare BPA-free lining, it’s ultra-lightweight (yet rugged and crack-resistant).   This makes it a great addition to the backpack when out and about taking in the stunning scenery at Goat Rock.  The Goat Rock T-shirts are great for those casual bbq’s and the zip hoodies are fantastic for those cool evening by the campfire at Goat Rock.  Buy some for your friends and family for gifts and make sure you bring them when you come back to visit! 

As time goes on we will continue to add to the range.  Sign up for our Newsletter (In the Sidebar to your right) for updates on new products, special offers and discounts.

After the rain on Friday, the weather was perfect Saturday afternoon for the Bonshaw CWA’s Bush Bazaar at Goat Rock. A variety of market stalls and displays were on offer with a crowd in excess of 200 enjoying the festivities.  Bush Poet, Jim Brown was our MC for the day and did a fantastic job.  A large number of entries for the Texas Garden Club’s Flower Show made a stunning display.  Voting for the most beautiful blooms went into the afternoon, with QLD coming out as the victorious state in the battle between NSW and QLD to see who had the best blooms.  A collection of great prizes were awarded to the winners of each section.  Jenny Magner (QLD) scooped the pool winning the Red Rose, Multi Toned Rose, and the Any Other Coloured Rose sections, Eva Beard (QLD) won the Pink Rose, Judy Thompson (QLD) won the Specimen of Any Other Bloom and also tied with Jenny Magner for the Multi Toned Rose Section.  Nola Dickinson (QLD) won the Stem of Multi Flowered Plant Section.

A line up of babies and toddlers entered in the Baby Show.  Awards were handed out to Ava Morris for Little Miss Sunshine, Charlotte Krauss for The Girliest Girl, Harriet Williams for Little Miss Cutie, Mikayla Doherty for Little Princess, Byron Coultas was the Manliest Man, Tyler Krauss for Mr Chatterbox, Jackson Coultas for Mr Smiley, Mackie Krauss for Mr Personality, and Matthew Doherty for Little Prince.  Jackson Coultas was awarded the People’s Choice Award.  All the money raised goes to the Australian Cord Blood Foundation for research.  Special thanks goes to the Texas Wrigglers and Gigglers Child Care Centre for their sponsorship of the event.

A number of activities and demonstrations kept everyone busy.  The Texas Line Dancers provided a great line dancing display during the afternoon.  A number of teams entered the Egg Throwing Competition with Michelle and Michael Prenzler winning the event.  The Rabbit Trap Throwing Competition was won by Will Phipps and the ladies winner was Amanda Anlezark.  The Charity Auction in aid of the Texas P&C was a great success, drawing a large crowd of bidders. 

A fantastic meal was served by the CWA ladies and was thoroughly enjoyed by all.  Live music provided by “Eleven 02″ began after dinner and the dancing started and didn’t finish until late!  A great day was enjoyed by all with numerous charities and organisations benefiting from the event. 

The organisers would like to thank the sponsors and supporters of the day especially Daryl & Dianne Rossiter, Paul Magner, the MacIntyre Gazette, The Stockman Hotel, Gooda’s Wool, Inverell, Young’s Variety, Texas Treats, Texas Wrigglers & Gigglers Child Care Centre, Goat Rock, Mick Collins and the Bonshaw Public School, Sandra Cox and the Ashford Central School, Jim Brown, the Texas Line Dancers, the Texas P&C, the Texas Garden Club, the Texas SES for providing lighting and traffic control, Kelvin Cox and Jacqui Press from “Eleven 02″,  Roma Bundock – CWA Gwydir Group President, the Texas Lions Club, and the three young blokes who did all the washing up and helped clean up on the Sunday, it was greatly appreciated.  Thanks to everyone who came out and supported the day and had a great time, we hope to see you at the next Bush Bazaar.

The kids enjoying their Christmas in July dinner

 On Sunday 5th July 2009, a small band of Goat Rock supporters enjoyed a scrumptious feast for the annual Christmas in July.  A steaming hot lunch of Soup, Roast Beef, Turkey, Pork and Baked Ham with Vegetables, Pavlova, Christmas Pudding and Custard, and Trifle, was served by the girls, with everyone, in true Christmas style, eating way too much!  

The beautiful table settings.

The Shed was transformed into a winter wonderland with snowflakes hanging from the roof and lots of decorated Christmas trees.  With Christmas Carols playing in the background, it was a beautiful sight!  Everyone was pleased with their present from Santa, a lovely candle and poem for the adults and decorated gingerbread men for the kids. 

The kids loved climbing the rocks and had a great day.  It was well into the afternoon when everyone decided they better go home, after such a fantastic day.  Thank you to everyone that supported us and we hope to see you at our next function.

Enjoying Christmas in July at Goat Rock

Locals enjoying the music of Eleven 02 at the Shindig

On Saturday the 11th April 2009, over 50 people enjoyed a spectacular evening of food, fun, music and dancing until the early hours of the morning.  A mouthwatering smorgasbord including Duck braised in Five Spices, South Seas Lamb Curry, Sausage Casserole, Chicken Curry, Stirfryed Vegies and lots more were on offer with plenty of dessert to follow up. 

Texas locals enjoying the music at the Shindig.

Local Ashford duo “Eleven 02″ consisting of Jaqui Press and Kelvin Cox provided the music for the night and everyone that was left standing danced until they dropped. 

Local line dancers tryed to teach everyone a few steps but we couldn’t quite get it together! 

Locals enjoying the Shindig at The Shed.

A great night was had by all with some making a weekend of it all and camping over for the Easter Sunday Brunch as well!  Many thanks to all that came and hope to see you at the next Shindig!!

Dancing to Eleven 02 at the Shindig at The Shed 09.

Acting like goats on Goat Rock.

On Saturday the 4th April 2009, Maguire’s Coaches from Chinchilla bought a group of friendly visitors on a mystery bus tour of the region.  They called in at Goat Rock for a scrumptious lunch of fresh sandwiches and homemade sweet slices. 

Holding up the Balancing Rock

Everyone enjoyed the view from Goat Rock and loved the granite boulders and fig trees.  After visiting Goat Rock they travelled back to Texas for a fascinating tour of the Texas Museum and a guided town tour.  A wonderful time was had by all.

Maguires Coaches from Chinchilla on their Mystery Bus Tour enjoying lunch at Goat Rock

Locals enjoying the Annual Canadian Visit 2009

On the weekend of the 21st and 22nd of February, a group of Canadians once again visited the Texas area and enjoyed real Texan hospitality.  On Saturday, they toured Coventry’s farming enterprise at Bonshaw and the Whyalla feedlot.  They spent time in the town and visited local tourist attractions.  On Saturday afternoon they experienced a hands-on shearing demonstration and climbed Goat Rock. 

As a grand finale to their stay, they enjoyed a spit roast and camp oven dinner with bush poetry provided by Jim Brown and music by bush band The Rabbit Trappers, both from Inverell.  The Texas P & C benefitted from the evening by holding a charity auction with some goods donated by the Canadians.  Approximately 70 locals joined the Canadian for a great night of Goat Rock hospitality.