IT'S been a while, but rippling water and the sound of birdcall has returned to The Lagoon, south of Bathurst.
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Having lived there his entire life, Steve Turnbull is enjoying seeing the lagoon full again after so many years.
Because he is a harness racing trainer, significant rainfall can be a hindrance when working with horses. But he says the wildlife congregating at the full lagoon is a rare sight these days and it makes the wet conditions worth it.
"It's been a while. Last year it got a bit [of water] in there, but it didn't stay long," Mr Turnbull said.
"It might come about half full or a quarter full and then goes away."
He remembers the water sometimes rising enough to just cover the fence posts, but now the highest it gets is about half of that.
"They've got it drained pretty well now to the river," he said.
"The swans are back. I haven't seen them for a long time.
"They used to come and have their babies and there used to be reeds and things in there, but all that's gone by the wayside now, probably because it was dry for too long."
After enduring one of the worst droughts in history only a few years ago, Bathurst has recorded more than 60 millimetres of rain in July alone and more is predicted before the month is out.
With over 60 years of history at The Lagoon, Mr Turnbull has fond memories of the crown reserve land both full and empty.
"We used to get an old bathtub and tie a big, long rope to the horse and drive him around in there because it was only knee-deep around the outside and we'd sit in the bathtub," he said.
"There was a set of old yards on the side of it where Dad [A.D. Turnbull] used to run gymkhanas when he was just married or a teenager.
"They used to have gymkhanas, bull rides, things like that, so it would dry up a fair bit.
"I had a harness track down on the end. It was always really soft on their feet, but you had to wait for it to dry up a bit."
Mr Turnbull also remembers drovers stopping over when they were mustering sheep and cattle - which doesn't happen anymore, he said.
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Amy Rees
Journalist at the Western Advocate in Bathurst since May, 2021.
Journalist at the Western Advocate in Bathurst since May, 2021.
