Remembering WW2 and Home of the Drovers Camp

Leaving Mt Isa about 5pm, late I know, and headed along the Barkley Highway to the WWII Memorial Site. This site is situated on the road built in 1941 to replace the track from Mt Isa to Tennant Creek. In 1940 the war moved to the Pacific and this road was part of the defense of the northern Australia. This site was established in 1995, and remembers the 50^th Anniversary of the end of World War II.

The next town was Camoonweal. It is the last town before the Northern Territory border. There were so many caravans around. There are two petrol stations, a no-name one just as you enter town from the east @175.9/l and a Puma on the west side of town @177.9/l. A Post Office which also houses the grocery shop, we brought bread @$5. A pub which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner – prices were reasonable. Peter said coffee was ok @$5.50. Bore water is available at a park on the east side of town and public toilets and a dump point are also on the east side. It was interesting to see “No school – no shop” sign in the grocery shop. I'm not sure how the shop would know? When we had a drive around on Tuesday – a school day – we saw only a few kids in the playground, yet saw more kids walking the streets and playing in their yards. Interesting.

Camooweal was originally inhabited by the Indjilandji Indigenous Australians and the name is from surveyor G.T. Weale, who some believe was the first person to bring camels into the area. The first lease in the area was in 1865, when John Sutherland settled and tried to run stock. The problem of dingoes, wedge-tailed eagles, and lack of water lead to many abandoning their leases. The town was established in 1884 and very slowly grew until a town bore was drilled in 1897. The Barkly Highway was the main road from the Northern Territory and was the defence route for WWII. This road was built by the army and carried over 1000 vehicles a day during that period. There are two caravan parks and three free camps along the Georgia River. We chose the second billabong and decided to spend two nights before heading to the Territory.

There was so much bird life and it was so quiet. We had a fire the first afternoon – bring your own wood – it was sad to see others before us had been cutting down young trees.

We met up with Jenny and Phil who we met at Longreach, and again at Long Waterhole. We had happy hour with them on the second afternoon. It rained a lot in town, only about 4 km away, yet we had no rain here at the billabong. After two wonderful nights, we headed for the border, 15km away, and the Northern Territory.