The Age Section: Life & Style. Historic town celebrates its kelpie heritage with a two-day festival.

OUT in the far west of the state, not far from the SA border, the Glenelg River cuts a gorge through the rounded fertile plains at Casterton. This is home to the kelpie breed ? the obsessive-compulsive of the dog world that is never happy unless it has something rounded up into a neat group. Next weekend this historic town celebrates its kelpie heritage with a two-day festival featuring competitions to see how high these dogs can jump (a kelpie called Riley jumped 2.91 metres in 2007). There's a kelpie street parade, the fattest dog competition, the dog most like its owner and, of course, Australian Kelpie Idol.

Australian Kelpie Muster, June 11-12,

2 HISTORIC FARM

WARROCK is the farm where the first kelpies were bred. It is a collection of more than 30 buildings on a single farm, a self-contained community built by Glasgow-born cabinetmaker George Robertson from 1843. Today it is Gavin and Carroll Larkins' home. The couple invite visitors to tour and explore the beautifully decorated wood and brick buildings, from the cooks' house to the barn, now filled with more than 150 years' worth of machinery.

Warrock, Warrock Road, Dunrobin, daily 10am-5pm, entry $6/$2, 5582 4222.

3 DINNER AND SHOW

IN THE Tapas Bar at the Albion, you'll find good old-fashioned meals of regional and local cuisine: curried sausages, egg and bacon pie and Tim Tart. It's unpretentious fun. As is the Old Cock and Bull Theatre Restaurant in the dining room. A local troupe led by Gary Williams and his wife, Trish, put on a WWII revue with songs such as Kiss Me Goodnight, Sergeant Major. Tickets include a roast dinner and dessert but if there is a bushfire nearby, you might not see the entire cast as two of the performers are firefighters.

Albion Hotel, 25 Henty Street,

daily 11am-late, 5581 1092.

Old Cock and Bull, dinner and show from $40, phone 5581 1787 for session times.

4 MERINO HOTEL

IN THE neighbouring town of Merino resides the 1870 Merino Hotel. In the 1960s, the publican installed a movie projector and turned the undercover beer garden into an outdoor cinema. They still show films and for a gold coin donation, you can sit down with your beer and watch To Kill a Mockingbird or, with raspberry lemonade on a Sunday arvo, watch The Sound of Music with the kids. Stay for the roast served with veggies, many harvested from Merino Primary School's Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden.

30 High Street, Merino, Mon, Wed, Thu, Sun 4pm-late, Fri to Sat noon-late, 5579 1202, merinohotel.com.au

5 PHOTO HISTORY

A REMARKABLE local history is captured on film in the Merino Public Hall. A few years back, a policeman and keen amateur photographer invited locals to submit their treasured photographs, from which he made reproductions. The result is more than a century's worth of social history captured on film and hung on walls. From a thriving wool centre to a town where the footy jumpers of long-abandoned clubs decorate the local pub, it's all on show. You have to ring the former postmistress, the charming Joan Irving, to get the key to the hall.

Merino Public Hall, High Street, Merino, phone Joan Irving for the key on 5579 1210.

6 PIES PLUS

EIGHTEEN months ago, Penny Farquharson opened Say Grace Cafe Larder, where she makes a free-range chicken, taleggio and thyme pie and bakes fudge brownies. She also serves Lavazza coffee and Australian cheeses and smallgoods, perfect if you're planning a picnic in the nearby bush.

16-20 Henty Street, Mon, Wed,

Thu, Fri 8am-5pm, Sat 8am-3pm,

Sun 8.30am-3pm, 5581 1400.

7 BUSH

EVER seen a red-tailed black cockatoo? They have a mournful cry, and in the air seem playfully ungainly. Although rare, you may have a chance of seeing one at Wilkin Flora and Fauna Reserve, a few kilometres out of town. The reserve covers 3600 hectares and you may see magpie geese, brolgas, kangaroos and emus.

Bahgallah Road, for directions and a map, go to Casterton Visitor Information Centre, Shiels Terrace, open daily

9am-5pm.

Publication: The Age Section: Life & Style Page: 6. Author: RICHARD CORNISH Date: 04/06/2011