On the gulf

Normanton and Karumba

Having got this far north we had to go to the gulf of Carpentaria.


Karumba is fisherman's delight, and Normanton the home of the Gulflander. Both are interesting little towns - and for many Southerners Karumba has been a winter retreat for many years. A two or three month stay was not at all unusual among those to whom I spoke.


The Barramundi Discovery Centre (www.barramundiscoverycentre.com) is an interesting and informative place to visit. With little funding this organisation is committed to ensuring that the sticks of the Southern Gulf barramundi are maintained for both commercial and recreational fishermen.

Sunsets, prawns, and prolific wildlife made our stay a delightful one.

Lawn Hill

Boodjadulla National Park

Never heard about this place until we were on the track. About 250 km from the Burke & Wills Roadhouse it is a little bit out of the way.


With over eighty kms of dirt road a four wheel drive is recommended, but it is accessible in a normal road vehicle. We chose to leave the caravan at Gregory Downs. It was a good decision. Along the way we met a few roadtrains from the mine.

The road may have been OK, but the dust takes a while to settle after the train has passed.

Adels Grove offers accommodation (no powered sites), and camping is available in the gorge. We were lucky to be able to get a tent at the gorge so we could stay overnight

For us it was walks in the morning, and canoeing in the afternoon. Paddling to the falls was easy, and the effort to drag the canoe above the falls and paddle onwards was well worthwhile. A swim below Indarra Falls on our way back was delightful.


Bonus - a free talk and visual presentation on the fauna of the park during that evening. It seems like this is a regular part of life at Adels Grove.

The park has a diversity of wildlife that matches Kakadu. With four distinct environments (sandstone,limestone, savannah and the creek) in the park the wildlife of each part contributes to the whole.

Waltzing the Matilda

Winton (pop. 900)

If you want to learn about our favourite national folk song then a visit to Winton is a must. For a small town is home to a variety of historical attractions. The Winton Club (home of the first Quantas board meeting), an Outdoor theatre and opal mining display, Corfield and Fitzmaurice building with its dinosaur display and diorama of the Lark Quarry dinosaur stampede, and Arno's Wall are all there.

It is also home to the Waltzing Matilda Museum, and various statues around the town commemorating the song. It must have more historical sites, statues and museums than any other town around.

For a museum in an an little outback town the Waltzing Matilda centre excels. It features a diorama set around the billabong that comes to life with sound and lighting effects, and the story is retold via video screen set in the billabong. Moving further along are sound 'stations' featuring stories and historical renditions of Waltzing Matilda. Many panels provide information on the swaggies and their equipment, and the terminology of the song itself.

And, wait, there's more! A twelve minute holograph display connects the song with more contemporary persons and events. Beyond the featured section are many more items of historical interest, as well as a video presentation in the theatre and an old movie of the birth of Quantas, with much of the narration spoken by Hudson Fish. I suspect that the budget and profile of their neighbours landmark is higher, but for my money Winton has the best.

Oh, we also camped behind the North Gregory hotel - the place where Waltzing Matilda was first performed by the man himself, Banjo Paterson, accompanied by Kitty MacPherson.

The 'Curry'

Larger than most of the towns we passed through thus far Cloncurry hosts a number of attractions, but for us it was a two night stop before heading further north. A visit to Chinaman Dam and Rotary Lookout were highlights of a day spent shopping, getting a windscreen chip repaired and gleaning information about a possible trip to Lawn Hill.

Seen and heard

"Unless we see some positive impovement..."

The Hon. Jenny Macklin

If improvement is not positive what is it?

I'm just waiting for an announcement about 'negative improvement'.

Machinery Mile

Ilfracombe (population 300)

Instead of staying at Longreach we opted to stay at Ilfracombe, just 30 kms shy of the home of the Stockman's hall of Fame. With the ancient machinery arranged north of the highway and surrounding two small museums, it was an interesting afternoon walk.

Throw in the information centre, which offered displays and videos about Wellshot Station and the Rush for Grass, together with some displays and a boundary riders hut, and nearby Langenbeker House, and it was a worthwhile place to pull in for a few nights.

Just in case the falcon doesn't make it we spotted an alternative vehicle that might come in handy.

The Icon of the Outback

Stockman's Hall of Fame

It is a touch ironic that the first thing you see coming into Longreach (3,700 people)from the east is the huge tail wing of a Quantas jet. Both Longreach and Winton lay claim to Quantas...but Longreach has the Quantas museum. They win!

The Stockman's Hall of Fame is impressive in its size and scope, with a range of well presented exhibits and abundant information. If you don't read very well, then it could be a struggle.


Unfortunately the outdoor 'show' wasn't running when we were there... so we missed out on that dimension. For me one of the remarkable aspects was the minimal references to the role of aboriginal stockmen. From memory I saw two references (which included a picture) to the input of our indigenous race as stockmen. Perhaps it is the lack of lack of available information, rather than an omission. I hope that is the reason.

That was most of our day at Longreach - which was finished off with a search for the Thomson River cruise area and inspection of the local golf course shop. The Quantas museum will have to wait until next time.

Seen and heard

"Unless we see some positive impovement.." The Hon. Jenny Macklin, Fed Minister for Halth.

What is improvement if it is not positive?

Perhaps the political view is that improvement takes place when things don't get worse.

Speed check

If you don't have a speedo, you have to rely on the speedo checks on the highway.

Well, not everyone has to worry about these speed signs.

We certainly didn 't

Beyond the black stump

Barcaldine (population 1,200) is famous for the Tree of Knowledge, a place of significane for the Australia Labour Party. The Australia Labor Party emerged out of the Workers Union formed after the shearers strike.

They had a little problem though. Someone poisoned the tree. A monument/sculpture now stands over and around the preserved remains of the tree. A new young tree stands nearby. There is something symbolic and yet ironic about this site. An ordinary but beautiful tree now stands poisoned, sheltered by amazing and unique but somehow grotesque artwork that both dwarfs and protects it.

The burghers of Barcaldine have protected the past by overhelming it with the present.

One other interesting sidelight - the tree was once known as the 'Alleluia' tree because the Salvation Army met (I am assuming that the meeting was an open air).


Machinery Mile - Ilfracombe (population 300)

Instead of staying at Longreach we oted to stay at Ilfracombe, just 30 kms shy of the home of tbe Stockman's hall of Fame. With the ancient machinery arranged north of the highway and surrounding two small museums, it was an interesting afternoon walk.

Throw in the information centre, which offered displays and videos about Wellshot Station and the Rush for Grass, together with some other displays and a boundary riders hut. Add to this the nearby Langenbeker House, and it was a worthwhile place to pull in for a few nights.

Seen and heard

"We all get heavier as we get older because there's a lot more information in our heads. So I'm not fat, I'm just really intelligent and my head couldn't hold any more so it started filling up the rest of me.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it."

Sign at Ash's Store and cafe Karumba, Qld.

Sounds good to me!

To the Black Stump - and beyond

At every place there's reason to stop. With grey nomads cruising through there's dollars to be made if you can get them to stop, even for a cup of coffee and some petrol. The large and small towns are all doing their bit to add value to a stop and make people welcome.

From Charleville we headed north via Auguthella (population 580). Murals and wrought iron sculptures in this outback town invite people to detour off the highway. Auguthella had the characters that inspired the "Smiley" books. This Aussie classic was released in 1958, and was the first movie I ever saw in the cinema. This image is just one of many that adorn the main street of this small town.



You can't get the Gents and Ladies confused either!


Blackall only has a population of 1705 , but must have about one tourist feature for every 100 people. This is one tourist friendly town.
Here are statues to honour Jack Howe (gun shearer who sheared 321 sheep in under eight hours), a Major Mitchell Clock, the pioneer bore, murals, a bird walk (don't trust their map), a big ram and the Blackall Woolscour.

And then there is the Australian Labor Federation Memorial marking the first meeting of the first shearer's union in December 1886.

It was also at Blackall that the 'legendary' black stump was located. We've now gone beyond the black stump. Sadly the original stump has been replaced by an old fossil. You can see it on the LEFT of the picture!

The Blackall Woolscour is an interesting place. For the uninitiated a woolscour is like a laundry for wool. Imagine working in a tin shed washing wool when the temperature outside is 40 degrees, and hot water and steam are used to wash and dry the fleece.

There is some old machinery scattered around the grounds. We had to look twice when there was a glimpse of a caravan almost like my Dad's. It wasn't, but it could have been. We had to check it out and make sure.

To anyone contemplating driving past - take a break and enjoy this place..