Barringun to a trip short circuited

Travelling from Barringun to Bourke we saw the feral goats we’d heard about from other travellers. They were quite prevalent along the way. They seemed smaller than domesticated goats - I had a goat many years ago - a Nubian and yes, his name was Billy. He would have been half as big again over these guys. And, as road kill, we saw quite a few wild pigs along the way so they’ve infested most areas of the country.

Bourke was a nice surprise. I doubt anyone in Australia hasn’t heard the saying “....back of Bourke” - well, the town has put together a very interesting centre which well represents the rich history of Bourke and surrounds. They’ve called it the “Back O’Bourke Centre” - and it’s very good.

Huge Shearing Shed in the Bourke Area

Bourke was originally set up as “Fort Bourke” by “Major” Thomas Mitchell who carried out explorations in the region. He named the Fort after the Governor of the state of NSW at the time Ralph Darling, and his report back to the NSW Government was very encouraging to future pastoralists. This led to an infusion of people looking for land on which to set up sheep farming properties in particular, and it wasn’t long before the town of Bourke started to take shape. It’s location adjacent to the Darling river made Bourke a centre for commerce, in particular the wool industry. 

Wool Bale Carrying Barge Travelling Down the Darling

Paddle steamers towing barges were the main means by which wool clips were transported to the port of Echuca which, due to it’s proximity to Melbourne, became the major railhead for transporting wool by rail to Melbourne and then on to ships, in the early years, for transportation to the mills in England. If you look on a map of the Murray river, you'll see that Echuca was established on that point of the Murray river closest to Melbourne.

North Bourke Bridge today

The North Bourke Bridge, just outside the town of Bourke, was constructed from components shipped from England to Melbourne, transported by rail to Echuca and then shipped by paddle steamer towed cargo barges down the Murray to Wentworth and from there, up the Darling to it’s current location. So this, to me, now ties in the importance of Bourke as a gateway to the NSW outback and Echuca as a hub for the development of commerce along the upper reaches of rivers like the Darling, the Murrumbidgee and others that form the Murray-Darling Basin system. 

The Darling river has it’s origins in the southern parts of Queensland and is the river most identified with Outback New South Wales. The area known as the Darling Downs in Queensland is the main headwater for the river, feeding water from the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland into creeks and rivers that eventually form the beginnings of the Darling River in northern NSW. The Darling is almost 1500km long from it’s beginnings to where it flows into the Murray river at Wentworth and is the third longest river in Australia - file that one away for an appropriate “in” during a conversation sometime.

A Modern Paddlesteamer Along the Darling

In 1870, there were in excess of 100 Paddle Steamers working the Darling and Murray Rivers, including their tributaries such as the Murrumbidgee and Edward rivers, and in 1885, a total of 72,000 bales of wool were transported down these rivers to the port of Echuca. And this doesn’t take into account those wool producers who decided to transport their wool clips by land. In these cases, wool was transported from outback stations to Bourke by Bullock drawn drays, offloaded onto a punt at the township of Bourke, which took the cargo across the river to waiting Bullock drays or Camels which then transported the cargo to Sydney. This was ok if weather conditions were good for the time it took to get the load to Sydney. If it was the wet season, loads could be lost in floods or held up for lengthy times waiting for rivers to subside.

Henry Lawson in Younger Years

Bourke also has a close relationship with Henry Lawson. Lawson, whilst in his early twenties was based in Sydney writing the occasional article for The Bulletin and trying to eke out a living as a poet. Problem was he was also an alcoholic who drank the proceeds of his endeavours and was living as a virtual pauper. The Editor of the Bulletin at the time must have recognized his talent because, he bundled Lawson on a train for Bourke with £5 and a request for articles for the paper. Lawson, together with a friend Jim Gordon got their swags together and headed for Hungerford to the NW of Bourke. Life was rough, and on his return to Bourke, he had formed a very different view to “Banjo” Paterson about the outback and its people. Will Ogilvie, another writer around these times, wrote perhaps the best description I’ve seen of some of the more down-and-out people in and around Bourke during this time while he was droving down the Darling. Describing them as Nomads, he wrote;

“ ... carry from bend to bend, their rolled blankets and God only knows what weight of sorrow in addition. Men with strange histories are these, beggars who have at one time perhaps written their names to thousand pound cheques. Men who were princes of Bendigo and Ballarat, or familiar figures in a far-off England which has forgotten their existence. Hopeless and futureless they tramp along the river road through the dusty thirsty days of summer, through the mud and water of flood time, asking only for a pittance of meat and flour from the stations they pass”.

To me, a very poignant description of some of those poor lost souls who once travelled these areas. People who Lawson I’m sure, would have encountered during his brief interlude as a “swaggy” and upon whom, he would have based many of his short stories and poems penned in later years.

Sheep Station Near Bourke During the Late 19th Century

When Lawson first arrived in Bourke in 1892, he got mixed up with the Shearer’s union, writing articles critical of local wealthy squatters who, during 1891, provoked the first shearers strike by trying to reduce their wages. Lawson was, apparently, quite radical in his views initially, however these seem to have been tempered in time due to his association with William Davis, a wealthy local squatter. Davis’s early life appears to mirror in many respects those of Sidney Kidman in that he left home at an early age and learned the tribal knowledge of the bush before acquiring land and building a significant holding of, in his case, sheep - upwards of 130,000. Unlike many of his contemporaries however, Davis was also a philanthropist and later, a colourful politician in the NSW parliament, achieving much for people living in and around the Bourke area. It is thought that this combination of wealth, philanthropy and empathy for the less fortunate caused Lawson to rethink his radical union views regarding the squatters. In an article written for the local paper, Lawson wrote;

“Get rid of the idea that the shearers are the only wronged men on earth and the squatters the only tyrants”.

Henry Lawson died in 1922 but remains today one of Australia’s most revered writers.

Fred Hollows (Front) With Local Aborigine Kids

Finally, Bourke is the final resting place for Fred Hollows. Professor Hollows' first field trip to provide care Aboriginal people was to the Aborigine tribes in and around the Bourke area. He returned many times to the area during his career and formed a close bond with the people of the town. Before he died, 

Our next major stop was Dubbo. Yet another nice surprise. Dubbo is a nice place. with a population of around 40,000 people and situated on the Macquarie River. It has a number of tourist attractions, but we decided the Dubbo Gaol was our thing so we paid a visit. The gaol’s in original condition, and much of it is as it was left when decommissioned in 1962. It was home to around 36 prisoners and 8 people were executed there. Several of them were executed on the basis of circumstantial evidence only, and appeals by locals to have these death sentences overturned were unsuccessful. One of the accused was obviously of low intelligence, but even that didn’t stop the Jury convicting him of Murder. In another case, the accused wasn’t fluent in English and was unable to fully understand proceedings. He went to the gallows protesting his innocence.

Conviction Sheet for Local Dubbo Man

The Hangman for most of these people was referred to by the prisoners as “Nosey Bob. In fact, “Nosey Bob” had no nose. In his earlier years as an apparently handsome thirty-something year old, he ran a successful horse-drawn taxi service in Sydney but at some stage, he was kicked in the face by one of his horses and lost his nose completely. Clientele for his business fell away as a result and things started to look rather grim. At some later stage, and for reasons unexplained, “Nosey Bob” applied for and was appointed, assistant Hangman. In his newfound career, he dispatched 64 people before retiring - to enjoy his grand-children. I’ll lay odds “Nosey Bob” wasn’t invited to the local Kinder to talk to the kiddies about what he did for a living .... but he would have been a real hit on the Lecture circuit.

Jag XK120 and "A" Model Ford

Parkes was the next destination, more as a mini-stop rather than anything else. But before we We visited the Henry Parkes Museum which has both a car and motorcycle museum and lots of old sheds filled with similarly old machinery, including old tractors, which got my immediate attention. The car museum has some interesting stuff including “T” model and “A” model fords, a Jaguar XK120 and quite a few cars from the 1950’s and 60’s including the Morris Minor (or “Morrie” as they used to be called) one of which I had during my RMIT days. They also have a Cadillac which belonged to Elvis Presley, in fact this particular car was the very car Elvis drove the day before he died. A bit of grisly trivia I think, but then I guess that appeals to many. I must be one of the many - because (a) I mentioned it and (b) I took photos of it. Case proven. 

Henry Parkes Museum Tractor Display

The old sheds filled with machinery were fantastic. The inventiveness of the blacksmiths and carpenters during the late 19th and early parts of the 20th century never ceases to amaze me. We first saw examples of this at the Alice Springs old Telegraph Station where we took a good look at the engineering involved on one of the horse-drawn drays built in the 1880‘s. At Parkes, this ingenuity was on display again, from early examples of horse-drawn mechanical harvesters to steam driven machinery through to early engine driven devices. A lot of the early gear was manufactured in Australia in stark contrast to what we have today.

Our next stop was to be Temora and the Frank Lowry owned Temora Aviation Museum. But something happened along the way. We blew the car engine. That, in a nutshell, drew a line under the trip - a very expensive line. The last thing anyone wants to see is their car on the back of a tray truck. Worse than that is to see your caravan also attached to the rear of the tow truck. All this happened about 30 km north of Temora in an area in which I had 1 bar on my mobile phone reception, enough to place the help call. The local NRMA guy from Temora, Mark Reddie, could not have been more helpful - we both owe him a  lot for his help and hospitality. And the RACV have been excellent in organising everything from overnight accommodation, hire car arrangements and transport for both the car and van back to Moama. Couldn’t have asked for more. If anyone is travelling throughout Australia, I highly recommend taking out Full Roadside Assistance - it’s excellent.

So sadly, this adventure has come to an early and unplanned end. But it has been an excellent adventure with a mate I’ve known for over 60 years. The experiences this country offers the traveller are extraordinary. The local people you meet along the way ground you to what life in the  country is really about which is hospitality, a sense of humour and a sense of community, the latter in particular being something we in the city seem to have lost. And if you haven’t already done so, go beyond those geographic boundaries you’ve currently established - it’ll be worth it.

The End.

Longreach to Barringun

Longreach is located in what you would call the central west of Queensland. With a population of around 4000, it’s the major town in central Queensland. It’s also home to the Stockman Hall of Fame and most notably, it’s the town in which Qantas originally started business. That’s why Qantas have chosen to locate the Qantas Founders Museum there.  Longreach also has a large cattle sale yard, and on that very point and as luck would have it, there was a huge cattle sale scheduled for the Wednesday we were in town. As a result we changed our itinerary (not that we have one - it’s as loose as an Amsterdam Sex Worker) so that we can go along.

Early Days - A QANTAS Outback Booking Office

As TJ and I are from aviation backgrounds, our first port of call was, naturally, the Qantas Founders Museum. Obviously blessed with Board Level support - unlike the Townsville RAAF Museum which “enjoys” RAAF disdain as mentioned in an earlier blog - the Qantas Founders Museum is yet another place of worship for those possessed of blood type AViatrix RH positive. There are films hosted by the likes of Hudson Fysh (a Founding member), the daughter of Paul MacGuinness (an almost forgotten Founding member) and other films produced by those attempting to emulate the early exploits of both MacGuinness and Fysh in the years before the formation of Qantas. The information boards are filled with interesting anecdotal stuff, the likes of which you just don’t get elsewhere. There are even interviews with the legendary Nancy-Bird Walton - her insights and stories about the early days of flying are fabulous. To have worked directly with the greatest Australian aviation legend of all time Kingsford - Smith - imagine how that would look on your resume !! After reading this stuff, I felt like rushing out and building a replica Avro 504K, Fysh and MacGuinness's first aircraft. But then, that would be goodbye to a life for 5 years or more - and to someone very special.

The DH86 - Lawrence Wackett proved this aircraft to
be unsafe when first introduced to Australia against
a barrage of British Aircraft Industry criticism.

As an aviation tragic I was right at home. The other heroes of this story - Fergus McMaster and Arthur Baird - are also given due diligence in their respective contributions. McMaster through his vision for Qantas to become an international airline whilst the airline was only in it’s early years of operation. Baird, the Mechanical Engineering genius who graduated from the then Melbourne Institute of Technology with the highest marks on record to that date (later to become RMIT University - my old University, both as student and later as lecturer) was the technical brains in the back room who kept the early fragile flying machines in the air. The sad part about this history was the falling out between Fysh and MacGuinness - MacGuinness tried unsuccessfully to start up in WA but things didn’t work out. When you read between the lines, it was MacGuinness who had the vision for the initial concept of Qantas and it was the indefatigable McMaster who was the powerhouse in guiding the company through some fairly tough financial times during the early days. The combination of Fysh, Baird and McMaster was an all powerful team that created a now world famous airline.

The Buyers - Cattlepersons

On the Wednesday we headed straight out to the cattle sale yards, about 5km from town. It probably doesn’t sound like much of an adventure, but it was really good. We managed to see the whole show from the perspective of the buyers, because we climbed through the fence and mingled with them. They didn’t even mind this bloke from the city sticking his camera in their faces every now and then. Very nice people, some interested in where we were from and quite happy to answer questions, no matter how dumb they may have been to them. Most are 3 axe handles across the shoulders and built to wrestle 400kg Brahman bulls to the ground. But a nicer bunch you couldn’t meet, unlike those Rodeo bastards that stole my 20 litre container full of fuel at Daly Waters - I’m still dark about that. 

Sellers and Buyers

Apparently, cattle prices were down on the last sale there two weeks before. The bidding is based on a per kg basis with most ranging between around $1.00 to perhaps $1.70, depending on breed, age and general condition. The stock sale guys stand on an elevated walkway system between pens and the buyers at ground level on the other side. There’s lots of shouting and waving of arms from the sales guy and his cohorts and before you know it, someone’s bought some cattle ... It’s an all new language to the uninitiated and it took a bit of working out before we understood what was going on - and who was actually bidding. The slightest nod from anyone brings excited shouting from those on high and you've got to keep a low profile otherwise you could become, unexpectedly, a cattle producer. 

400kg Brahman Bull - No match for some of the
Cattlemen in a Wrestling bout ....

Most of the cattle were being bought for further fattening because of the low feed levels this year due to lack of good rains. Right now, most are doing it a bit tough, but they have had good yields the previous 4 years, so if the rains return to normal next year, the industry will be ok. If not, well that’s when people go to wall financially or worse, start committing suicide - yep that happens in these areas because you see the odd billboard advertising help for those who need it - and for help in preventing domestic violence, which is another symptom of bad financial times. Coming from the city, this isn’t something you spend time thinking about, but when you see what a drought does to the livestock, the land and the people, you start to get an appreciation for what these folks have to deal with at times.

And of course, we both got cowshit all over our boots, but that gives you a degree of authenticity - and smell, just like a real cattleperson - that's about 1 degree on a scale of 360.

An Icon of the Outback - Sidney Kidman and Family.
Sidney Kidman had 50 million Square Acres of Land
at the peak of his Pastoralist career - an area greater
than England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland combined

In the afternoon, we headed out to the reknowned Stockmans Hall of Fame and Pioneer Heritage Centre. We’d heard about this place and were keen to have a look. Well, having seen the Stockmans Camp at Camooweal in FNQ, the Stockmans Hall of Fame was a real disappointment to us. The Centre takes people through five aspects of the Outback; Beginnings, which is all about traditional land custodians; Discovery which highlights the major explorers; Pioneers which refers to some of the early Pastrolists; the Royal Flying Doctor Service: and finally - and almost as an aside - the role of the Stockman, most of which was more about rodeo riders than stockmen. Unlike the Drovers Camp at Camooweal, the Stockman’s Centre lacks anything genuine - even the timber “hut” which is meant to resemble an early settlers shack, is more a showcase to craftsmanship than to how a real shack would have been constructed and looked. 

Stockman Hall of Fame Longreach

There are information boards all over the place and one of the big criticisms we heard before we got there was that there was far too much reading. We originally thought this was just laziness on the part of those making the claim, but when we got there, we could not but agree. In short, again an opinion, it’s very over-rated, over-priced and wafer thin on anything substantial. In a word, it’s “slick” - something completely at odds with the real outback from my somewhat limited experience to date.

I think the Caravaner's Hall of Fame - Thargaminda (CHOFT) has more appeal .........

The next main stop was Charleville, which is midway between central and southern central Queensland. It’s not a big place but it’s tourist claim to fame is the Cosmos Centre and Observatory. Why this centre was located here is never explained but one would guess it’s due to Charleville being located way inland away from distracting light sources such as city lights and far enough removed from the effects of Industrial pollution. But there are many towns like this in these parts so there must be something else to it. Either way, they advertise Observatory views of the night skies and explorations of other things galactic. The word Observatory conjures up visions of a large dome housing a goodly sized powerful telescope made visible to the night sky by huge sliding doors rumbling over well worn tracks. That is not the modern way. Instead, you are provided with viewings through a compact but powerful telescope, either of the sun using special filters during daylight hours or night sky viewings, and believe me, the skies on a clear night are crystal clear, Milky Way and all. We chose the Astronomy By Day option which was ok.

The Charleville Races - Photo Finish

Our visit to Charleville also happened to coincide with the Charleville Country Race Meeting so how could we possibly knock back this opportunity. Neither of us have ever been to the horse races, other than one visit to the trots when we both in our teens. So this was a must do - so we did. There were about 50 people all up - including the two Bookies and their staff and although we didn’t get to see the racing fixture, I think there was a total of 5 races and we saw three of them. There were only about 6 horses on average in each race and the only lady Jockey amongst the riders was the winner in two of the three races that we saw. No Black Caviar or Makiby Diva here, just locally bred horses, locally bred Jockeys and locally bred race-goers. The atmosphere was “real folksy” - everyone seemed to know everyone else - except us of course; we were the obvious ring-ins. But the locals were very chatty and couldn’t believe we hadn’t been to the races before this. The Bookies were running bets on not only the Charleville races, but also races in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne so money was changing hands everywhere. A great atmosphere. Would do it again in a heartbeat.

The Cunnamulla Fella - He turned to stone when
he heard the "lady" talking to her kid on the road ....

Our next main stop was to be Cunnanulla. The drive was memorable for the number of Emu’s we saw along the way. The number went way past 100 by my count and you can quite easily miss them if they happen to have their head down feeding. In that case, they look just like a small bush - until their head pops up and bingo - instant Emu !. We’d also been told to watch out for feral goats along the way but we didn’t see any. The only ferals we saw were in Cunnamulla and they weren’t goats. The town has a history of being the original site for a cattle station called Cunnamulla in the late 1800‘s but today it appears to be a motley collection of barely livable houses, rundown infrastructure - and well, “interesting” people. TJ overheard a local “lady” scream at one of her 5 kids to get off the road in the sort of language you wouldn’t even hear in a mens locker room. I can just imagine how that little bloke’s going to grow up. He’ll be very familiar with the court system by the time he’s 10 no doubt. So having looked around town, sampled the local culture (reference “lady”) and having found the only cafe open on the day (a Sunday), with a selection limited to four Mrs Mac pies, 3 chiko rolls and other such delights, we decided it might be better to move along - so we did. 

Northern NSW Footrot Flats

And we ended up in the town of Barringun, just across the border into NSW, staying at the Bush Tucker Inn “caravan park”. The “Inn” is the northern NSW equivalent of Footrot Flats but with cattle substituted for sheep. Fabulous place for some real Outback experiences .... and genuinely lovely people run the place. 

Eddie or Elmo ?. Hard to tell as they don't talk much ..

We were graced with the presence of two pet Emu’s Eddie and Elmo - my naming - strutting up and down the fenced off back paddock. Inquisitive, tough, aggressive - "whad-r-ya-lookin-at ?" and too ready to bite the hand that tries to feed them, as TJ found out ..... Eddie obviously has an attitude problem.

Cattle that have "Dog" bluffed

We also watched cattle that have breakfast then casually jump the low part in the fence, wander across the road for greener pastures, come back for lunch, go back over the road again, then come home around dinner time - all true. This is, apparently, the established and accepted routine by all involved.Then there's “Dog” who patrols around the establishment barking, I suspect, to make it sound as though he’s actually doing something because rounding up stray cattle certainly isn’t his forte. 

And finally we have “Farmer” -  not quite sure what he does because a bloke in the “park” that visited this place 15 years before said nothing’s changed. But having said all that, I wouldn’t have missed this for quids.

The next stop will be Bourke about 140 km down the road. I am in no doubt the adventure will continue up until the day we arrive home. 

Townsville to Longreach

Downtown Charters Towers - Captain Photogenic was
in the blue ute parked on the left 3 cars up

When we left Townsville, we weren’t quite sure where the next stop would be. Charters Towers was the first stop which was for lunch. The main street is quite interesting and seems to reflect older and more prosperous times, but there didn’t seem to be enough of interest to pursue so we decided to move on. But the locals definitely are friendly and obliging - I had some young bloke with his girlfriend ask me if I wanted to photograph him. He didn’t quite know what to do when I said "not really ..", but he did offer further information by way of “ ... but I’m a nice person ..” . Anyway, that extra piece of data wasn't a deal-clincher so self and TJ shuffled off to the pub for a counter-lunch. This is a true account by the way ...

The reason I mention this is because it almost speaks to the way many out-of-the-way towns try and market themselves today. They hang out a shingle for the tourist, whether it be a big Banana, big Pineapple or big Crocodile (remember Krys the Croc from Normanton ?). Such is the competition for survival of many of these towns that they have to try and identify a differentiator from other like towns. They all have such fantastic history, having been borne out of the late nineteenth century mining and land rushes. We never learned anything about these early pioneers when we were at school, we only got the European edition because that was our origin, at least most of us. Having travelled through a fair part of Australia now, even only as primarily a bitumen based roady, I now have huge respect  for the people that opened this country up; the inspired, the imaginative and the strong willed, all of whom believed in themselves. You can still see them today - if you know where to look. Start at the local pub, particularly with the guy wearing a safety colour vest - he'll be a Road Train driver who knows the country like the back of his hand. Or the bloke with the Texan-style hat - he'll be a cattleman or Station owner. Or the gnarled elderly bloke with the well worn "bushies" hat - he'll have a wealth of experience in all things outback. Either that - or he's the town drunk, in which case you may need to recalibrate your "bushie" spotmeter. Either way, I guarantee you'll come away with a slightly different slant on life.

So the young bloke at Charters Towers who fancies his photogenic qualities needs another angle. Everyone's a nice person - until they're not. Cities are full of 'em.

Out of 60 tyres, spot the flat one !

Hughenden, which was the next major stop was a distant 350 km odd further on, so we ended up pulling off the road at a free camp area about 100 km short. Whilst there, a triple carriage cattle truck pulled in with a flat tyre. While the guy was changing it, I got talking to him as happens in these parts. Turns out he owns the property from which the cattle onboard were coming, and he was headed east for agistment on greener pastures. Yet another full triple cattle truck pulled in headed in the same direction and he owned the cattle on this one as well - as well as the two cattle trucks and also one parked on the opposite side of the road headed west, this one empty. I asked how he survived the live cattle export ban and he said he was ok but those that bought land several years earlier - and paid too high a price for it - were going under. His fallback plan was investment in the cattle trucks. Having said that, he didn’t seem to think it would get any worse as this was the first year in 5 or 6 where rainfall had been down on average. According to the Publican at Winton (Publicans know stuff ...) rainfall in the general area this last wet season was way down on what it should have been.

Road Rage or just someone disenchanted ?

At the same stop, we saw evidence of what leaving one’s car unattended can amount to. A campervan parked at the end of the camping area had been trashed. Either someone had completely lost it and taken it out on the van, or it’d been stolen and someone had some “fun”. Either way, it was totalled - a rather sad end to a van that had, perhaps, served someone well for some time. But then, this wasn’t something new. We’d seen lots of this sort of thing up through the centre in the Northern Territory, in particular. Off to the side of the road, and usually 50 metres or so into the scrub, you see literally countless numbers of cars that have been stripped and then burned. They’re usually upended on their roof, probably so that the wheels and suspension can be stripped as well. It’s an eyesore and something that the NT Government is going to have to come to grips with. While we’re on the subject of trashing, the Stuart Highway up through the centre, as well as having burned out cars, is littered with bottles, cans and anything else that’s easily thrown out the window of a moving car. At some stage, this is also something the NT Government is going to have to tackle.

A "Blazed" tree -  Miner strike camp 1891
just outside Hughenden

Hughenden was sort of interesting. They have a Flinders Discovery Centre which claims fame to dinosaurs discovered at Muttaburra (and called - Muttaburrasaurus ... true ..) and to being the centre of the shearers strikes in 1891 and 1894. We did consider taking a diversion to the dinosaur footprints where they believe around 3000 stampeded at this particular spot, however like Muttaburra, it's a considerable drive and besides, we see dinosaur footprint every caravan park we stay at .... Other than this, there really isn’t all that much to see or do around this town. The area surrounding the whole region appears very barren, but not to the eyes of sheep and cattle producers. To them, it’s good grazing land and as a result, there are many sheep and cattle stations surrounding the major and minor towns in the district. The area round these parts would, I assume, be called Northern Queensland rather than the Far North. It’s still just north of the Tropic of Capricorn, which, according to Wikipedia, is: “...... the dividing line between the Southern Temperate Zone to the south and the tropics to the north.”  Having seen the areas north of this, and just shy of the Gulf, I’d say they need to redefine it. The area south of the Gulf for about 200 km is wetland, but south of that it definitely aint tropical this year. The rivers are dry, grasslands barren and that’s why they’re moving cattle to greener pastures towards the east coast.

After Hughenden, we stopped at Winton. Winton is the home to the Australian classic Walzing Matilda- which in fact, is based on a scottish tune about which are wrapped words, the meaning of which are derived from the German language. So we were multicultural even before we knew it. The explanation for all this was provided in the very interesting and informative Matilda Centre - yet another museum .... So the explanation for all this is as follows;

During 1895, Arthur Barton Paterson (A.B. Paterson) was visiting Winton with his fiancee who had family relatives in the area. At a gathering at the Dagworth Station, Christina MacPherson performed a tune on a zither that she had heard the previous year at the Warrnambool races. Paterson liked it so much he put words, phrases and events into the verses, the likes of which he’d recently heard about the traps from shearers, drovers and others in the outback at the time. He named the song Walzing Matilda. As an aside, Paterson's nickname of "Banjo" was the name he adopted. It was the name of a favourite horse owned by his father when Paterson was quite young.

The Quintessential "Swaggy" - painting by
an artist local to central Queensland who's name
I'm ashamed to say I did not pick up. If I had a spare
$3500 I'd buy it - that's the price asked and it really is
an excellent portrayal - similar to what I remember 
about this bloke dad invited on to our back porch.

Walzing comes from the German term auf der walz which means to travel whilst learning a trade. Young apprentices apparently used to travel around with the Master craftsman as he undertook various work contracts. Matilda on the other hand has a more tortuous derivation, but long short, it came to mean “ to be kept warm at night”, which refers in this case to the swag or blanket into which all one’s belongings are rolled and then slung over the shoulder, bike or horse, depending on the mode of transport. So put more succinctly, Walzing Matilda means to travel from place to place with your belongings wrapped in a blanket. This is what the Swagmen did, and I remember as a kid in the early 1950 when dad - with great disapproval from mum - invited a Swagman in to our house when we lived in Pascoe Vale. This was at a time when our house was one of the few in the area, dad having built it himself, and it wasn’t all that long after the war so I guess things must have been tough for a while in those days. I remember this particular event because this “Swaggy” had this huge beard and I remember just staring at him because I’d never seen such a big beard before. I can't imagine the humiliation he must have felt to sit there while this shy kid just stood there staring at him - if he was around today, I'd apologise,  invite him in and try and help him in some way. Anyway, dad made him sit on the back porch while he went inside and got some food for him and then when he left, dad went outside to make sure he didn’t put a marker on the post out front. They used to make different marks on posts so that others would know that they’d been given a free meal - or whatever it was they got. So the Swagmen were around for many years - but I can’t recall any one of them lustily bellowing out the verses of Walzing Matilda as they dragged their bony-arsed bodies about looking to just stay alive. Instead, these poor unfortunate souls, for whatever reason, had to eek out a life virtually dependent on the generosity of others or by other less savoury means. Today they're called "street people" and they hang out in cities. Things haven't changed all that much when you think about it ....

Bladensburg Homestead and outbuilding

The other event worth mentioning was a visit to the Bladensburg homestead and shearing shed, about 20 km south of Winton. Both of these building complexes reside inside the Bladensburg National Park and you are free to wander through both at your leisure. The Homestead comprises a central house surrounded by out buildings including a kitchen, meathouse, coldroom, Jackaroo quarters, book keepers office and chook and turkey runs. Most buildings are in original condition, right down to tree trunks as stumps, although there has been some concrete re-stumping of the Homestead. Aside from the main house, all other buildings are clad with corrugated iron on all sides and roof. The homestead has a huge verandah around the perimeter and simply has internal wall cladding, with no cladding of any kind external to the frame. Unusual to say the least. The roof is high pitched and clad with corrugated iron.

Shearing Shed - built 1960's

The Shearing shed is great. It’s in original condition, with the last sheep having been shorn in the early 1990’s. The sheep retaining pens outside the main shearing shed are all made from thick tree branches and the uprights from tree trunks. There’s the usual barbed wire and netting and sheep spraying booths with roughened concrete flooring. Inside the shed, which is about 100 feet long (30 metres) and perhaps 40 feet wide (13 metres), there’s the original wool press located centrally down one end of the building whilst at the other, there are 8 shearing stands with Sunbeam shearing machines - as opposed to the Wolseley machine which was the more popular - and a number of ramps and pens for incoming and outgoing sheep. You stand in the middle of all this, let your mind wander and try and visualise what the scene must have been like on shearing days - well, at least I do. But then I'm a dreamer .....

Shearing shed - Woolpress on the left - shearing stands far right

T-Model Fords - Utility on the left (1924),
Camping model on the right (1922)

And finally, there’s the Winton Diamantina Heritage Truck and Machinery Museum. A $5  entry fee with payment based on the honour system. The collection of restored trucks is very good - but my favourites are the old T-Models in their various guises. In the back paddock which is a good 2 acres or more, there are numerous old trucks and tractors in various stages of disrepair. These vehicles are beyond restoration but the variety is extraordinary. My interest is drawn to the old tractors and there are a few of these. But for anyone interested in seeing some old stuff, dating back to the 1940’s, it’s worth the visit - if you’re up this way of course. Just don’t plan a trip around it ...

One last note for this blog. Today we pulled into a pub (again) to get some stuff, and got talking to the bloke at the drive-thru. Turns out he was a shearer around the area about 40 years ago and how he ended up in a drive-thru - well we didn't ask. But he was originally born and bred in Casterton in Western Victoria. I told him about my sister Pat who'd been a Nanny down that way many years ago. I said she was on a farm of around 5000 or 10,000 acres - can't remember. A thought suddenly struck me - in WA, the NT and central and northern QLD they are referred to as Stations. So when does a farm become a Station ?.  Didn't get an answer so that's one I'm going to have to Google ....

Townsville

The sign says it all

Townsville was a very pleasant surprise. Located about 700 km south of Cairns with a population of around 200,000, it has assumed the mantle as the capital city for northern Queensland. Essentially, it’s the main HQ for private companies and government agencies servicing the far north. It’s also a base for the Australian Army and the RAAF, although at the moment the RAAF don’t have aircraft deployed there.

When you drive downtown, you get the feel of a well developed and substantial city. By this I mean a mix of architecture dating back to the 19 century interspersed with the more modern. There are also well defined light and heavy industrial areas on the fringes and a port area that appears to be quite busy - doing what, not sure. As you drive around, you don’t see huge well lit billious-boards with signage screaming their message about holiday package deals, accommodation, fishing charters or food, such as you see in Cairns. So if you like, Cairns is the loud, flashy teenager - Townsville the mature adult. And no, there‘s no apology to teenagers for my analogy. Full stop.

Castle Hill Foreground - Magnetic Island Background

Right adjacent to the CBD is the foreshore. Running along the foreshore on one side is the Strand, a winding road separated from the foreshore by a well designed and maintained park. Restaurants, Cafes and Hotels pepper the real estate along the way and at lunch and dinner time, there are people everywhere. Prices are “elevated” for the unwary, but if you talk to the locals, as we are prone to do, you learn about alternate and often better choices. On the other side of the CBD, the extension of the Strand leads you to the wharf area where the Ferries for Magnetic Island are berthed. Magnetic Island is about 10 km off the coast and was named by Lt James Cook (here’s that man again) in 1770 when he sailed the Endeavour between what is now Townsville on the mainland and “Magnetical” Island, as he originally named it. Magnetic Island is essentially granite but for some reason, it made the Endeavour compass move about erratically, hence the name. The island is a haven for a large population of Koala’s and about 50% of the island is National Forest.

Downtown Townsville - From Castle Hill

Just off the Strand, Stanley Road takes you to the top of Castle Hill which directly overlooks the CBD and also gives a 180 degree over-view of most of the downtown area. We went there on Sunday evening and couldn’t believe the number of people out walking, jogging or cycling  up the hill - there would have been a couple hundred people without exaggeration - and that was just in the time we were there, which was late in the day. It’s a 2.9 km climb of about 550 metres in height so that’s an average incline of around 11 degrees. Doesn’t sound much but try doing that on a treadmill elevated to that angle at say 10 km/hr for a time which equates to around 17 minutes continuous - and then you come back down. Who needs a treadmill when you have a Castle Hill right outside your front door. Suffice to say there were a lot of sweaty T-shirts about on that day. But the view of the city from the vantage point, particularly the CBD, is fantastic. There’s another good viewing point about 25 minute drive from the CBD that takes you to Mt Stuart which, although further out of town, gives you a truly panoramic view of the whole of Townsville. It’s good for the over-view but nothing like the Castle Hill view. You are almost directly above the CBD area - awesome.

Townsville has museums - very good museums, with perhaps the exception being the RAAF museum. We were disappointed by this one, not because the people running it were in any way lacking, in fact they were very friendly and welcoming, but because the RAAF itself is lacking in providing the support to a museum which should be way better than it is, given its history. It comprises essentially photographic displays of the history of the Townsville RAAF base, including a very good display on the bombing of Townsville in WWII.  Neither self nor TJ knew that Townsville had been bombed in WWII.

English Translation of japanese Pilot Logbbok

Townsville was, in fact, attacked 3 times during 1942 by Japanese air raids, with the only reported damage being from the first raid, and then only to a Palm tree !. But the logbook of one of the Japanese bomber pilots on that first raid makes interesting reading. According to his entry dated 25 july 1942, he managed to bomb a jetty and 3 large merchant ships. For the second raid, a single aircraft was chased off with anti-aircraft guns and jettisoned it’s bombs over the sea, which the pilot accurately reported. On the third and final raid, the pilot reported that he had been attacked by fighter aircraft, but had managed to bomb the RAAF airfield. 

No ships were sunk in Cleveland Bay (so named by that man Cook !), the Port area of Townsville, there was no damage to any Jetty and the RAAF Airfield was left untouched after all 3 raids. So either the aircrew of these attack aircraft were fighting a war in some other part of the world or - golly gosh - they were telling porkies. Disgraceful state of affairs. Imagine what this does to the war Stat’s ?

Scale model of HMS Pandora

I’m not going to waffle on about the other museums we visited, suffice to say the Tropical Museum of Queensland contains an excellent display of HMS Pandora. Pandora was the ship that was sent out from England to track down the mutineers from HMS Bounty.  In fact, this is the central exhibition in the museum. The expression "Pandora's Box" relates to the box on the Quarter deck of Pandora that was built specifically to house the 14 mutineers captured on Tahiti following the mutiny on the Bounty captained by William Bligh. 

The Maritime Museum has an excellent collection of Naval memorabilia, including photos, hardware and general personal belongings. There’s also a very interesting video on the exploits of the Krait, a Japanese Lugger that was captured by the Allies and used as a means of getting past the Japanese defences in Singapore harbour. Six Commandos in canoes managed to attach Limpet mines to a number of ships in the harbour and sent 40,000 tons of shipping to the bottom in one night. The reason this was such an important mission was twofold. In the first instance, it proved to the Japanese that they weren’t free from attack in even the most heavily fortified areas they controlled. And second, it provided a morale boost to the Allies who, at that time, were suffering from some terrible defeats, Singapore being probably the greatest at that time in this theatre of the war. And finally, there’s an Aquarium. I didn’t visit this one but TJ did and was impressed.

My Trail Bike "Mike"

As already mentioned, off the coast about 10 km is Magnetic island. Fortunately, those salivating at the thought of making big dollars haven’t been allowed to screw it up. TJ and self whizzed around the island, he on a Scooter (he doesn’t have a bike licence) and me on a 230cc “trail bike”. The power of both was such that I doubt either could have pulled the skin off a rice pudding - but we had fun and got to see most of the island.

WWII Command Post on right - Picturesque bay left

Magnetic Island is home to around 3000 people and has at it’s highest peak, WWII gun emplacements and all that goes with that. It’s referred to as “The Fort” and we took the time and walked up there. The views are spectacular and well worth the effort. It’s almost a surreal experience - you’re wandering through the remnants of a heavily fortified fortress built to defend against attacks on Townsville - shift your gaze ±10 degrees azimuth (ie left or right) and then dial in negative elevation (ie look down) and all you see are picturesque palm tree lined sandy beaches and blue sea. Factor in a cloudless blue sky and there you have it - brilliant. You feel like your in some kind of parallel universe; ie The Guns of Navarone right beside Adventures In Paradise. 

Horseshoe Bay from The Fort

The island has some of the best coastline I’ve seen on this trip. There are several small bays with sandy beaches lined with palm trees, the finest example being Horseshoe Bay. This is a wonderful beach, semi-circular in shape (hence Horseshoe Bay) with a sandy beach and netting to keep out the box Jellyfish. And this is something I didn’t mention earlier - you see netting like this on some beaches up this way, and not on others. Either way, there’s always a bottle of Vinegar in a holder, clearly marked as such, right at the beachfront in case you get stung. 

Horseshoe Bay - very pleasant surroundings

Right opposite the beach is a very well designed and unobtrusive shopping centre with low level and tastefully designed apartments. And the added bonus - very few people. Maybe that’s because of the time of year, but even so, this place screams (in a hushed way if that’s possible) seclusion, privacy and a place to relax. I could spend a couple of days here, no problem.

Whilst in Townsville, we’ve been staying at a 7th Day Adventist church caravan park, which occupies a large open field behind the church. It’s part of the Riverside Convention Centre based about 5 km from the CBD so it was an obvious choice for us, being so close to the city. Besides, the rates are very reasonable at $25 per night for two people. Given all this, we’ve been puzzled as to why there are very few caravaners here - no more than a hand full when we arrived. I think I’ve discovered why. Most mornings at 7am, the gardener starts up the motorised blower - right by the caravans. Furthermore, he keeps revving the bloody thing almost as a taunt - at least that’s the way it appears. Now I know the guy is just doing The Lord’s work, but he has two black sheep in the flock in this particular paddock and things could have turned ugly. Restraint was exercised, lips zipped and mutterings maintained at a low level, so all was well - sort of. 

From here, we head back inland and then down through central Queensland and NSW.