On the Road Again – Heading Far West

Leaving Julia Creek and heading to Cloncurry info centre, we were surprised by the changing landscape. This is obviously mining country. First stop was the Mary Kathleen Memorial Park, which is also where the information centre is. There is a picnic area, toilets and plenty of room for caravans. At the info centre there is a display of mining and farm equipment from Mary Kathleen. It also has the relocated Mary Kathleen Police Station. Very interesting.

In 1861 Burke and Wills were the first known Europeans to come to the area on their way to the Gulf. Burke named the river Cloncurry after his cousin Elizabeth Cloncurry in Ireland. In 1867 Ernest Henry came to the area in search of grazing land, and instead found copper and established the Great Australian Mine. The town was surveyed in 1876 and was named after the river.

Cloncurry has many 'firsts'. Cloncurry is where the first official Flying Doctor flight took off from in 1928. Established by Presbyterian Reverend John Flynn, today the John Flynn Place commemorates the history of the Flying Doctor Service as well the changing landscape of Cloncurry, and many real and replica exhibits. In 1929, Cloncurry had the worlds first household pedal radio. In 1960, Queensland's first School of the Air was established at Cloncurry. Cloncurry is also the home of the original first QANTAS hanger, and it is still used today.

Leaving Cloncurry we stopped at Burke and Wills memorial which commemorates the explorers passing this point in 1861.

Just a little further up the road is a historic Aboriginal Marker, which acknowledges the ancient tribal lands of the Kalkadoon “Honour their name be brother and sister to their descendants.”

We decided to look at Corella Dam and Clem Walton Park. We read in Wiki Camps not to be intimidated by the gate – so we opened the gate and went through, followed by another happy camper. So many caravans in this large area. We met people that were staying 6 weeks. It is private property and the farmer doesn't mind travellers, as long as travellers don't mind his cows. There are no facilities, except at the two day use only areas which are a distance away to walk – about 15 minutes on bad split tracks by car. We eventually found a good spot with water views and decided to stay the night – we will visit Mary Kathleen ghost town in the morning. Corella Dam was put in place by the owners of Mary Kathleen mine as a water source for the mining process. The dam also provided weekend recreation for the families living at Mary Kathleen.

Situated a short distance along the highway from Corella Dam is Mary Kathleen Ghost Town. Mary Kathleen is just over 62km from Cloncurry, and 56km from Mt Isa. After going in the main gate we turned right, off the bitumen, to a dirt track between two small concrete pillars that took us down to one of the residential areas of Mary Kathleen. If one wants to see the mine, which we were told is spectacular, it is about a further 7k along the bitumen which deteriorates into a bad dirt track – don't take your van. About another 10 km will take one to the mine that is still in use.

Mary Kathleen was so interesting – walking around trying to work out what everything was. A syndicate of men, including Clem Walton and Norm McConachy, looking for uranium in the Cloncurry area in 1954, came across a dry creek where one of their trucks had broken down. While waiting for the truck to be repaired one of the men turned on his Geiger Counter which immediately gave high readings in the area. Leases were pegged out and the deposit was named Mary Kathleen in memory of the wife of McConachy, who had died shortly before the expedition. The mined uranium was shipped to Britian via trucks to Cloncurry, and then train and ship to Britain. The town quickly grew and contained a cafeteria, stores, recreation room, library, P.O., medical centre, police station and fire station etc. The mine was closed in 1984 due to the over supply of uranium and the town was sold soon after.

Now all that is left of the town is the foundations of the buildings. We met some lovely people, Sam and Eunice, and spent way too much time talking to them, so didn't get to walk around all the town – maybe next time! This is a free camp with no facilities, and one needs to be self-contained. There is a really good video explaining the history of the find and the town at the Mt Isa Information Centre.

From Mary Kathleen we drove to Mt Isa and the Info centre where Peter had booked an underground mine tour. I happily watched TV and did some blog and some sewing.

I didn't find out a lot of history about Mt Isa. We really were not there long enough. However, the Visitor Information Centre is worth a visit. Called “Outback Isa” it houses not only the tour for the Hard Times Underground Mine – which Peter said was good value and interesting ($70 seniors). It was named after a horse owned by the founding father, John Campbell Miles. The Centre also has free Wi-Fi, toilets, showers, cafe, tour bookings, caravan parking, and free water (if you want bore water). I had the best tasting chocolate milk-shake, although it was rather small for the $6.70 that I was charged, and I actually finished it while waiting for my ham and cheese croissant ($6.50). Probably wont eat there again. Mt Isa has a lot of fast food outlets, one on the next block. Really want to eat at the Buffs Club!! We filled up our gas bottle and continued onto WWII Memorial Site. We didn't spend a lot of time in Mt Isa – it was Sunday and most shops were closed. I'm sure there is a lot more to see in Mt Isa.

Julia Creek – Gateway to the Gulf

After Combo waterhole we travelled to Kynuna, on the Diamantina River, only a few kms away. Not a lot there. Originally the Wanamara lands, the town was established as a shearer's union camp, near a supply point, and named after Kynuna Pastoral Station (established 1878). The Post Office was opened in 1883, and the town was gazetted in 1894. Banjo Paterson was engaged to local girl Sarah Riley, and visited the area often. This was where he got the inspiration to write Waltzing Matilda. We should have continued along the Landsborough Hwy to McKinley to see the Crocodile Dundee Hotel but that will have to wait for another trip. From Kynuna, Julia Creek is 115km on a new fully sealed road.

We headed for the free RV park right on the creek. We have heard so much about this free camp that we had to see it for ourselves. What a great spot. First check in with the hosts to get a permit. One has to be self-contained and only 96 hrs is allowed – 4 days – and if one has an Outback Mates card and extra two days can be obtained from the information centre. There is water available and bins and three bikes to borrow to ride along the bike track to town. We were able to get a site right on the Creek.

The information centre 'At the Creek' is a wonderful piece of architecture and so full of information. There are old workers cottages that now house photos and audio-visual displays. The old gaol houses a larger audio-visual room and the actual information centre. Outside the area is beautifully landscaped to depict the landscape of a river leading to and from the Artesian Basin, with large boulders -'moon rocks' – to provide seating and tables. There are two audio sections and a large screen. A really great area. The ladies in the info centre were were very helpful.

Julia Creek, originally known as Scorpian, was the first European settlement in north west Queensland and serviced the surrounding properties, and was a Cobb & Co. stop. Donald McIntyre came to the area in 1862 after travelling up the Darling River. He established a property named Dagonally about 70km for the present town. In 1870 the name of the town was changed to Julia Creek after McIntyre's niece Julia Campbell.

We walked up and down the main street – as we do – and stopped for Peter to get his coffee fix which happened to be in the local 'Friendly Grocer'. I picked up some more Creamy Chocolate biscuits and some lemonade. We walked up to the old opera house which was opened on the same day as the Sydney Opera House. This one use to be in the hospital grounds and was moved and restored last year when the new hospital was built. Now it is located behind the Council Chambers and houses a lovely collection of old photos. It is also right next to the Artesian Bore, which supplies the town with water. Thee is also an interesting park that has a number of history boards, and a good playground. There are over 30 historical boards around the town.

Julia Creek has the cheapest petrol up this end of the state, and also had the cheapest beer Peter has seen since Brisbane - so he topped upon both.

Once a Jolly Swagman.....

Winton likes to take credit for the site of the inspiration for Waltzing Matilda. However, the Combo Waterhole, some 132km northwest of Winton is believed to be the original site of the swagman jumping into the billabong to avoid being arrested by the troopers.

In Sept 1894 on Dagworth Station, some striking shearers set fire to the wool shed and the owner and three police officers gave chase to a shearer, Samuel Hoffmeister, who was believed to be involved. Rather than be captured he shot himself and fell into the Combo Waterhole.

The waterhole is actually a series of waterholes connected by flagstone overshots that were built by Chinese labour to help the Cobb & Co coaches cross. They also act as dam walls to retain the water.

The waterhole is located about 5km off the Landsborough Highway (Matilda Way) on a dirt road. One wouldn't do it in the wet.

The parking area has information boards and toilets. The first of the waterholes is a short distance away, with a round trip of 2.6km to visit all of the waterholes. 

To see, and walk on the flagstone overshots, and to think they have lasted all these years, is amazing. This was where we first used our fly hats. 😊

We continued onto Julia Creek – our next camp.

Dinosaur Capital of Australia/Home of Waltzing Matilda.

From Longreach we travelled 175km to the outback town of Winton. Our plan was to stay behind the historic North Gregory Hotel – but it was already full at midday, so we parked the van and had a walk around town and the new Waltzing Matilda Centre. In 2015 the Matilda Centre burnt down. I remember feeling sad as it was one of the few museums that we went to that we really liked. The new centre looks strange, and is very modern inside. It is meant to depict fitting in with the landscape and the outside mostly looks like a big rock, with heavy metal chains. Inside is a cafe, and Peter said the coffee was good. The info desk is small and most of the touring pamphlets are located around the corner. It still houses the museum, and it was pleasing to see some of the out buildings still remained after the fire.

Winton is famous as being situated close to gem fields and is a stopping centre for fossickers. It is also where Banjo Patterson wrote Waltzing Matilda, and where the music was first played – at the North Gregory Hotel, and thirdly and more recently, Winton is known as the dinosaur capital of Australia. Winton has its origins in 1875 when a man named Robert Allen camped on the banks of Pelican Waterhole. A year later Pelican Waterhole was flooded and Robert Allen moved his dwellings of a hotel/store to the site of today's Winton. It was then that Allen, as the postmaster, changed the name to Winton, to make it easier to write on postage stamps. The name comes from a suburb of Bournemouth in England. The town was gazetted in July 1879.

We walked around the main street past the North Gregory Hotel, the scene of the first performance of Waltzing Matilda in 1895, and next door the old open air theatre. If we had stayed behind the North Gregory Hotel we would have gone to one of the screenings. The theatre was built in 1918, and is one of only two open air theatres left. The town is getting ready for the Vision Splendid Outback Film Festival at the end of June. This festival is 9 days and about 30 films screened each day in the Civic Centre and each night in the open air theatre.

After walking around we got back into the car and went up to the Musical Fence, located up where the old airfield use to be. QANTAS was formed in Winton in 1920. There is memorial to QANTAS at the Musical Fence. The Musical Fence is a fun area to make music using strange objects. Created in July 2003, it was the first musical fence in the world.

After buying a few items for dinner - salmon rissoles - we headed out of town to the free camp Long Waterhole, for the night. It seems all the places we planned to go, and some we didn't plan are full of happy campers – REALLY FULL! Not that we are complaining, it is good to have so many other like minded travelers with us. Long Waterhole is an area put aside for self contained vans. It is located about 4 km out of town and is a made made waterhole that was the centrepiece of a bike track around the waterhole. We met up with some people we met at Longreach - so happy hour was good.

We stayed one night, it was a little cool overnight, but it is getting warmer. We had planned a few days in Winton, but with the North Gregory being full we decided to keep going. Before leaving Winton we went up to Arno's Wall behind the North Gregory Hotel. The wall is constructed out of concrete and rock and 'stuff' – most from Arno's opal mine at Opalton. An interesting wall that stands a couple of metres high and has at least three sewing machines that I saw.

After a quick stop at the bakery for bread rolls and Peter's coffee we were off again heading north and the warmer nights.

The Heart of the Outback

After a little grocery shopping in Barcaldine, we continued to Longreach, some 115km north west. The first indication that one is close to Longreach is the sight, in the distance, of the tail of a QANTAS jet.

We stopped in town to get some milk – Barcaldine didn't have any milk left – and went to the Apex Riverside camp, about 4km north of town. Everyone was there!! We ended up at the top of the area looking down at the rows of vans.

The area is a dust bowl that would become very muddy if it rained, with that said, it is a great site and close to Longreach. There are toilets at the river end and at present a new very large covered area is being built. It costs $3 a night or $15 a week. A fruit and vege van comes a few times a week. The sunsets are spectacular over the Thompson River. We watched emus and brolgas walk around the camp site and there were two roosters that 'owned the place'. I liked how the early morning they would play 'Marco Polo' – can't complain about ROOSTERS crowing :)

Longreach is in the heart of the Queensland Outback and has many historic sites to see. Last time we did the QANTAS Founders Museum, well worth a visit. We spent the good part of a day there. Also the Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame – a day is not enough. One of the highlights last trip was the Longreach School of the Air, a very informative tour. This trip Longreach is a wonderful stop along the way. We walked up and down the main street, stopped in Kinnon & Co to look at 'outback' goods and heaps of artefacts – and it is the local quilt shop! This is also where a lot of the tours leave from. We do want to do a Thompson River Sunset Cruise, but the nights are so cold we are going to leave it until another time and when the nights are warmer. So much more to see in Longreach. A new installation in Longreach is the Longreach Botanic Walkway. We discovered it by accident when we stopped in a back street to see the QANTAS plane on the way into Longreach. This a 2.5km flora walk between the town centre and the Stockman's Hall of Fame. Along the way are stones with plaques of pioneers. A great new tourist attraction.

Some years ago on one of our trips we signed up for Outback Mates. We don't use it a lot, but it has paid for itself over and over. We went into the Merino Bakery and Peter got his coffee fix and I got a free hot chocolate. We also bought some bread rolls for lunch. We stayed two days, but probably should have stayed a little longer. Next time......

The Tree That Became a Legend

We left Blackall and decided to head to Lloyd Jones Weir, 105km away and about 7kms off the highway about 5kms before Barcaldine. This was the first time we saw live Aussie animals on this trip. Lloyd Jones Weir is a lovely donation camp right on the water, but sadly the camp was full. We found one site but it was under trees and we really need sun for the solar panels, and the satellite couldn't get a signal, so we decided to go to Barcaldine East Free Rest area for the night. This is a really large area that goes back into the bush. It is an overnight rest area and has a toilet block. We stayed the night and went into Barcaldine the next day – Monday – to do shopping. We must remember weekends in the bush all the shops are closed!! Barcaldine was established in 1886 as a railway town, but is more famous as the location of the Tree of Knowledge and the history behind it.

The Barcaldine Tree of Knowledge is situated in front of the railway station. The tree is the heart of Barcaldine and played an important part in shaping one of Australia's main political parties. 1891 saw the end to almost 5 years of conflict between the shearers and the station owners. Station owners had lowered the wages of the shearers and in 1887 the station owners had been invited to Blackall to work out a fair solution to the strike. The land owners did not attend! This lead to the formation of the Queensland Shearer's Union, which in turn lead to other unions being formed. In 1889 the station owners met at Barcaldine and formed the Central Queensland Employers' Association, the aim being to prevent strikes. As more shearers went on strike, more strike camps sprung up around central Queensland. We saw first hand on a previous trip the remnants of strike camps not far from Muttaburra. In March 1891 the shearers marched under the Eureka Flag. The shearers often met under the tree at Barcaldine and the tree came to be a symbol of the shearers struggle of surviving for a fair go.

The Ghost Gum was thought to be over 200 years old. It survived two termite infestations, one insect infestation, and the weathering of time, but it was at the hands of man in 2006 that the tree finally died. In 2009 the dead tree was uprooted and sent south to be preserved. This took 12 months and today the tree again stands in the original spot where the shearers met. It forms the centrepiece of memorial to pay homage to the significance of the site.

There is a lot to see in Barcaldine, historic buildings and museums of significance to Australia's history.

Blackall - home of Jackie Howe

We intended to drive to Barcaldine, but happily spent too long in Tambo, so only drove 103km to Blackall on the Barcoo River. For $8 per night in the riverside camping we had a perfect riverside site. We have been coming here since 2013 and paying fees and now we can see the benefit of the fees. It use to be a dust bowl, but now is covered in green grass, and it is very close to town. Now it has drinking water taps spread around the common. The toilets across the road have been updated. It was always a good stop over, but now it is even better, so we unhitched and stayed for two days.

Blackall was established in 1868 and was named after the second Governor of Queensland, Sir Samuel Blackall. The towns water supply is from the Great Artesian Basin

We filled up with fuel and visited the Blackall Woolscour. Blackall has Australia's only fully intact steam-powered wool washing plant left in Australia. It started operating in 1908 until 1978 and today is a tourist attraction. It costs $17 ($16 for seniors) to do a tour of the factory, but it is free to walk around the grounds.

We next went to the Blackall Aquatic Centre. Blackall is situated on the Great Artesian Basin and thermal water feeds the Barcoo Creek and therefore the Barcoo River. The water is hot and relaxing. The pools were larger than expected and Peter said the coffee was good. It costs $2 to swim and it is free to look.

We did some shopping – Peter likes a roast for Saturday night – and then had a walk up and down the main street. There are a lot of information boards along the street telling the history of the town, but Blackall is probably best known for the original Black Stump and Jackie Howe.

Jackie Howe is Australia's most famous shearer who set two shearing records in 1892. The main street has a replica of the Universal Hotel owned by Jackie Howe. Jackie Howe was born John Robert Howe about 1861 in Killarney near Warwick, and began shearing and moved to Blackall in the late 1870's, and married his wife Margaret Alexandra Victoria Short there in 1890. He was a strong member of the Queensland Shearers Union and was active during the 1891 and 1894 shearer strikes that lead to the formation of the Australian Labor Party. In 1900 he abandoned shearing and purchased the Universal Hotel at Blackall, sold it in 1902 and purchased the Barcoo Hotel, and repurchased the Universal Hotel in 1907. Howe had the hotel until 1919, when he moved to Sumnervale. He died the following year, leaving behind his wife, six sons, and two daughters. He is buried in Blackall Cemetery. The replica of the Universal Hotel was built on the same site as the original by Jackie Howe's granddaughter and her husband Mr Muir.

The site of the Black Stump is located behind the school in Thistle Street. This is one of the sites that surveyors used to survey most of Queensland. This is where the term 'beyond the Black Stump' comes from – meaning any place west of the black stump. The stump is no longer there, but has been replaced by a petrified stump. The mural in the back depicts what the original scene would have looked like. A bit of Australian history.

The town has many statues and sculptures, and there is so much more to see. The houses are beautiful and from a forgotten time. This year Blackall is 150 years old and in August/September there will be 10 days of celebrations. Each time we come to Blackall we notice the improvement, from the first time when there were many closed shops to today where the town has pride in promoting its heritage and tourism.