Continuing the Journey: Chinchilla, Queensland

We stopped at Woolies in Chinchilla to get groceries and headed to Chinchilla Weir, about 10km south. It was packed and even overflowing into the 'no camping beyond this point' section. We found great spot along the fence as we don't need power and spent a lovely peaceful evening. The following morning most people left, so we moved to a powered site. Not bad for $5 donation a night. There is a toilet block a short walk away and it is so quiet. The weather has been good, a little over cast Saturday, but no rain or wind. The internet and phone reception is hit and miss, but we were not worried. We decided to stay the weekend and explore some more of the area.

Chinchilla is named after Chinchilla Station which was established in 1848. The word Chinchilla comes from the Aboriginal word 'jinchilla', which was the name for the cypress pine which grows in the area.  The Aboriginal Barunggam clan lived and moved through the area. The first European to the area was Allan Cunningham in 1827 and settler moved in the 1840's. The railway arrived in 1878 and a town was established.

Chinchilla is famous for two things: petrified wood, and the 'Miracle Bug'.

We went to look at one of the fossicking areas. To fossick in Queensland one needs to get a permit, and here in Chinchilla the two fossicking sites are on private property so a fee is also paid to the land owners via the tourist information centre. We are not fossickers and wouldn't even know what to look for. The petrified wood in Chinchilla dates back to the Jurassic period (140-180 million years ago) when trees were covered with volcanic ash and buried in a lava or mud flow. We had a look along the top of the soil, but......

We went and had a walk down the old historic side of town, not many buildings left there now. One of the historic signs said Aboriginals knew not to camp at the location, and it took whites 60 years of floods to realise they needed to move the town. We drove out to the other free camp north of town, which is located on a waterhole. Looked nice. The town has a food works, petrol stations, clubs and fast food takeaway. We filled up the car and went to look at the “Shanti” Bug Farm Memorial Wall and Shed. This was very interesting. It is a replica of the end of a shed used to breed the cactoblastis moth to help to eradicate the prickly pear. The memorial is situated near the entrance of the property. We have often wondered if prickly pear was an introduced species. There was nothing written about the introduction of the plant at the Bug Farm Memorial, and no one at the information centre seemed to know, so I Googled it when we had reception. Admiral Phillip led the First Fleet to Australia in 1788, he brought with him the prickly pear plant in order to create a dye factory and produce red dye from the plant for the soldiers jackets. Some 60 years later Matthew Goggs brought the plant to the Chinchilla district. By 1870 the plant was out of control, and was later listed as a noxious weed. 

Chinchilla also has a watermelon festival every two years which we must look at visiting one year. I didn't know that 25% of Australia's melons are grown in the Chinchilla area.