Tambo, Augathella, Charleville, Cunnamulla and Bourke

When I reached Tambo just 100 kms from Blackall it was time to stop, relax and enjoy the slower pace of life in this little town, after the much more hectic pace of the last 10 days. My first stop was the Grassland Art Gallery which had some wonderful and varied forms of art. Apparently Tambo is the oldest town in the central west and is located on the Barcoo River. I enjoyed lunch on the banks of the Tambo Dam which attracts a lot of waterbird activity. Domestic ducks have taken up residence there and come begging scraps.

Tambo teddies are gorgeous little hand-crafted teddies made of sheepskin and can be dressed in a range of outback clothing. And you don’t have to be a tiny tot or little child to fall in love with them. Apparently this little business has created an amazing 34,000 bears.

From there it was a mere 60kms to my next free campsite, not too far out of Augathella and I must say this campsite has the cleanest outback loos you would find anywhere. Just read the comments left by other campers. There wasn’t a lot to see at Augathella except the local park, called Meat Ant Park which is a tribute to the footy team there.

The next town was Charleville and it’s quite a big town. At this stage I felt I needed a couple of days to unwind and give the sightseeing a miss and just catch-up on some much needed cleaning (including me, my clothes and the van). So the first job was to wash the van and about an hour and a half later I could see that it was white again. It was thirsty work and my neighbours, Wal and Doreen could see that I was in need of a drink. So they invited me over for “Happy Hour”. So after a couple of days I was back on the road heading for the border and NSW.

The road to Wyandra was good with some wildlife such as emus and the odd lizard as well as lots of dead kangaroos.

I arrived early and  spoke to bar tender about camping. He told me the best place would be the camping area behind the school. I passed an interesting house along the way, fundraising for Breast Cancer. I spent the rest of the afternoon reading and then decided I needed a drink so went to the pub, got talking to lots of the locals and stayed for the BBQ.

Walked home in the dark in time to watch the 2^nd half of the Eagles and Carlton match being played in Perth. Was going to use the outside loo but thought better of it as there was a bat up in the rafter which I’m sure had peed on me. Camp kitchen was worth a photo.

Hey, how exciting was the Eagles/ Carlton match? (for those of you who are into AFL that is.) I managed to get TV reception here so was able to watch the Eagles defeat Carlton by 3 points. Talk about nail biting!

What a pretty little town Cunnamulla is – very green, and with lovely parks, well kept houses and gardens. A tribute to the young blokes who worked on the properties around the area is the “Cunnamulla Fella”, a huge bronze statue, which is situated in the middle of town. The song about him was first written by Stan Coster and was later immortalised by Slim Dusty. I drove out to the Weir which is a camping spot, (well not officially) and stayed there the night. I seem to be awake early these mornings as summer approaches and sunrise is earlier. The bird sounds were amazing. I had a family of geese (mum, dad and 3 kids) around the van so I took some photos. Dad was ok at first but when I went out to turn on the gas, whoa, he became a little concerned and went to ward me off. I was quite wary after that little episode.  However, it was sooooo beautiful this morning by the water. Again such a lot of birdlife.

Weather has been quite hot and windy and I could feel the gusts of wind pulling the van as I drove. I crossed the border into NSW andI must admit  it was with a tinge of sadness since it will probably be a long time before I get back to Qld. The last 9 years have certainly been good to me, living in Qld. Within minutes I was pulling up at a little place called Barringun and walking into the pub. I had read about the publican, Mary Crawley (90 years of age if she’s a day.) I ordered a Coke and sat and talked to her and a couple of blokes. She is as “sharp as a tack” and has an opinion on every subject.  A delight to talk to.

I was on the road again through Enngonia and then on to Bourke, arriving at about 3.30pm. I booked in for 2 nights at the Kidman’s Camp where the caretaker gave me some literature on Bourke. Bourke is located on the mighty Darling River, the longest river in Australia. It’s got a population of about 3000 and is important for wool, cotton and citrus production. It has the usual shops in town but the pharmacy caught my attention. Grey nomads needn't worry about visiting the dentist in town. Check out the photo.

The “Back O’Bourke Centre” happens to be the Tourist Info Centre too. I spent an interesting few hours there reading the history of the area and listening to the legends of the back country. The stories are inspiring and often moving and one again realises the importance of this region to Australian history. Names synonymous with this area include Henry Lawson, Will Ogilvie, Harry “Breaker” Morant, Fred Hollows and Charles Sturt.

The paddle steamer trip down the Darling River leaves from just outside the caravan park and it was only a 10 minute walk at most. The PV Jandra allows you to take a leisurely cruise and the only sound you hear is the splash of the paddles. The original Jandra was a steam paddleboat built in 1894 and pulled a barge behind her as she went from station to station along the river to collect wool. But the PV Jandra was built in 2000 and is the first paddleboat to operate on the Darling River in 60 plus years. Beautiful red river gums and Coolibah trees line the river banks.

I decided to stay extra night so I could go to the camp oven meal and bush poet. It turned out to be a good show with music and poetry accompanied by steak, vegies, mashed potato, bread, pikelets and toppings and washed down with billy tea. What a treat from cooking! All proceeds went to local charities.    

It was a pleasant drive through to Nyngan, although there seems to be a lot more traffic on the roads now and I’m beginning to see the first signs of agriculture with green paddocks of wheat, fenced properties and large grain receival bins. At the caravan park, when I walked over to check out a spot, I was almost dive - bombed by a very angry magpie. So when I went back to check in, I made sure that I carried a large stick (my windscreen cleaning brush) as a means of defence, in case it decided to strike again. The neighbours in the nearby vans were quite amused. The evening passed without any further problems, thank goodness. I don’t seem to be having a lot of luck with the local birdlife!

So in the next few days I shall be in Dubbo, where I plan to meet another friend from WA. Hope you’re all keeping well. Cheers for now.

It's now 1.55pm Saturday 24th Sept, and I'm just going to see if I can get the Eagles' game which is about to be broadcast. Go Eagles! 

Winton, Longreach, Barcaldine and Blackall.

The drive back to Boulia via Bedourie took me a couple of days, although doing it in 200km stretches wasn’t too taxing and knowing I only had about 120 kms of unsealed road also  made the drive relatively easy. The rats weren’t a problem either. So after a bit of dust removal, (from me and the van) and restocking the pantry, I headed off for Winton.

First stop was Middleton, which was originally a stage coach stop but this town is now best known for its classic Aussie pub full of old-world charm. On arriving I had to pop in for a drink and to soak up some of the atmosphere. The bar tender is also a camel herder and has been around the area for years. The Hotel Hilton is where I decided to stay for the night (check out the photo. Note the ladies showers. I decided against using these.) There’s nothing left of the original town.

The next day it was a short drive in the Lilleyvale Hills to Cawnpore Lookout where I had excellent views of the spectacular scenery. The rest of the drive to Winton was quite scenic as the road wound its way through Jump Up and Channel country, beautiful red earth, spinifex country and Mitchell Grass Downs, which all  highlight the diversity of the landscape.

Winton itself has a rich history with links to the Great Shearers’ Strike, Waltzing Matilda and Qantas, and is also well known for dinosaurs.  Winton is the place where Banjo Paterson wrote Waltzing Matilda in 1895 whilst visiting Dagworth Station. Legend has it that the first public performance happened at the
North Gregory Hotel in Winton on 6^th April 1895. (It just happens to be the hotel where I camped for 2 nights out the back. So of course I had to celebrate with a couple of fellow campers over a couple of beers.) The Waltzing Matilda Centre was well worth the visit.

Twenty five years later, Winton became the birthplace of Qantas. The local expression is that Qantas was conceived in Cloncurry, born in Winton and grew up in Longreach.

The first official dinosaur discovery in Winton Shire was made in 1962, on Cork Station – a fossilised footprint with the site later revealing a stampede with over 3,300 footprints. Still later “Elliot” was discovered. I visited the Australian Age of Dinosaurs which is home to the world’s largest collections of Australian dinosaur fossils and the site of the biggest fossil preparation laboratory in the southern hemisphere. People actually pay to stay here and work on the relics. It’s located on top of a huge mesa plateau called “The Jump-Up” with huge rocky outcrops, cliffs, canyons and spectacular distance views.  

Winton also has an old picture theatre (The Royal Open Air Theatre), which is now a working museum, and which runs a program of nostalgia, reminding us of years gone by with old time slides and black and white film. One of these, “Our Gang”, was a favourite of mine as a child. Oops, I’m showing my age! It was a real trip down Memory Lane.

The opal mining industry also flourishes in Winton with apparently, some of the best boulder opals found from claims within the Winton Shire.

Then it was on to Longreach, which boasts 2 of Australia’s major attractions, the Australian Stockmen’s Hall of Fame and the Qantas Founders Outback Museum. Both showcase the characters and spirit of the Outback. One certainly needs time to go through both of these exhibitions to digest all the information which is displayed. Such a lot of work and money has gone into these.

Another 175 kms down the road there’s a little town called Barcaldine home to some 1600 residents. It’s a thriving community with lots of retail therapy outlets and services. Right in the middle of town is the Tree of Knowledge site which has been part of the history of the town right from the beginning of settlement. The memorial recreates the size of the canopy of the tree when it was in its prime during the 1891 Great Shearers’ Strike. The Australian Workers’ Heritage Centre is a place to reconnect with the history of all kinds of workers who have helped to build our nation. As you can see after my last few days I’ve pretty much ODed on history.

The next town on my travels was no exception. The town of Blackall and anything west of here is “beyond the Black Stump”. This is located behind the school and was once used for surveying purposes and was where surveyors placed their transit on the stump for latitude and longitude observations. The stump was more stable than a set of legs. Hence the saying “beyond the Black Stump”. I was a bit disappointed that this is not actually the original one as it was burnt.

Jackie Howe, the legendary shearer lived and died in Blackall. He shore a record of 321 sheep in 7 hours 40 minutes back in 1892. Obviously he used blades. And while on the subject of sheep, the historical Blackall Woolscour is also located here. It is the last example left intact of a steam powered wool washing plant with a 20 stand shearing shed attached. It operated under steam power (from an artesian bore) from 1908 till 1978 and the machinery is now as functional as it was then. When you see the pond, the water is actually crystal clear and very hot to touch.

I guess that’s enough history for now so my next stop will be Tambo, famous for its teddies. It certainly has been a busy few days. Cheers.

Birdsville and The Races

Well I spent a very interesting week in Birdsville and I must say that experiencing the lead up to the big weekend was fantastic – there was a huge influx of people, caravans, tents and trailers, buses, fuel trucks, food trucks, beer trucks, entertainment vans, portaloos for the main street, small aeroplanes and helicopters, to souvenir stalls. Even Fred Brophy’s Boxing tent was there. There was lots of fund raising for the RFDS, including the screening of the movie “Back of Beyond” which featured Tom Kruse who delivered the mail along the Birdsville Track during the 40’s and 50’s.

Everyone was in party mode (as you will see from the photos), and there was no shortage of booze to drink and entertainment venues to attend. The weekend kicked off with fun races outside the pub where toy horse races were held. There was a DJ at the pub most of the weekend, a country and western singer at the caravan park, and more singers and entertainers at the hall.

Races were held both Friday and Saturday. It’s moments like these you need someone like Tony Carlton to give you a tip for the Cup. Alas, I didn’t manage to pick the winner. Because of the wind and dust on Saturday, the ladies had to be sure they wore pants or slim neat fitting skirts to prevent them from flying up over their heads. The Fashions on the Field competition still went ahead. Apparently Tony Abbott flew in for the day but he was in the Corporate Marquee. A Calcutta was held and an auction all in aid of the RFDS. So all in all, a good time was had by all.

Many travellers started leaving after the Cup was run and, as quickly as the caravan park had filled up, it started to empty. The big exodus was on Sunday but as there are 3 main roads leading out of Birdsville, the number of  rigs on the road back to Bedourie was not too much of a concern for me. I decided to retrace my steps to Boulia so that I could travel east to Winton and Longreach over the next few days.

So the Birdsville highlights list:

The Birdsville cup, the bakery and a curried camel pie, a beer in the Birdsville Pub, meeting new friends, laughs around the campfire, driving up Big Red, viewing Lake Eyre from 1000 m, playing in the band at the caravan park, The Working Museum and eating pancakes at the old hospital, 4X beer, Dave Prior and his comedy show and the Burke and Wills Dig Tree.

Not on the highlights list:

The bush rats, queuing up for the showers, red dust, corrugated roads, not picking a winner at the races,  windy days when the awning nearly came down.

Next blog: Winton, opals, Waltzing Matilda, dinosaurs and Longreach.

Cheers for now.