On the road again...

So time to write a bit more about our recent holiday. The last post I wrote about our trip saw us staying overnight in the lovely town of Lorne. The next morning I had to make a decision; continue on the Great Ocean Rd with its stunning scenery or detour inland to places where my ancestors lived. DH left it up to me to decide. The latter choice won and we drove inland through lovely country to our first stop, the town of Colac. 

And in particular we stopped at the historic Thwaites Bakery, a business started by a relative of my mum’s father. 

We ordered a cup of coffee and I asked the lady behind the counter whether the Thwaites family still ran the business. She said yes, Mark Thwaites is in charge now and when I commented that I was a distant cousin, she offered to let him know I was there as she was sure he’d like to meet me.

And when Mark got a chance he came out into the shop. He reminded me of one of my Pa’s brothers so the resemblance was there! 

He talked about the old photos on the shop wall. Mark’s grandfather started the business in 1909! 

The photo on the top left shows Mark’s grandfather in his delivery truck and the young boy is Mark’s father. 

So a few more photos taken outside. 

Standing in front of what was the original shop

And then to the left of the entrance of the shop nowadays is the attached residence of the family.


Everything was beautifully restored and kept in wonderful condition. DH and I found that so refreshing as our hometown of Brisbane hadn’t had such a good track record of maintaining/ keeping historical buildings. Bravo Thwaites family!!