Agnes Water and the Town of 1770 (1 - 3 May)

---

After walking along Urangan Pier in Hervey Bay, we drove back out to the highway via Torbanlea and Howard. We stopped at Childers for another one of our BBQ-sausage lunches at the local park. After lunch we went for a stroll along the main street and treated ourselves to 'Mammino' ice-creams, gourmet ice-creams made nearby. They were delicious and very rich. Above the Visitor Centre, we then browsed through the art gallery and the very moving Childers Backpackers Memorial upstairs in the renovated Palace building, which was the scene of the Palace Hostel fire in 2000 that killed 15 fruit-picking backpackers. The memorial features an amazing glass wall full of poignant images and memories of the 15 backpackers. The lady from the Visitor Centre spent some time telling us about the fire and how the surviving backpackers were looked after and how the community rallied together after the tragic event.

We had planned to drive to the Town of 1770 or Agnes Water that day, but we didn't leave Childers until quite late, so decided to stop for the night at Granite Creek rest area, a free camp site on the Bruce Highway south of Miriam Vale.

On Saturday we drove into 1770 but in the end we stayed at the much cheaper Discovery Coast Caravan and Camping Park, located about 5 minutes inland from Anges Water. It was a long weekend (Labour Day) in Queensland so the caravan park filled up quite quickly. We set up camp and headed for a swim and our last chance for a surf at Agnes Water Beach.

On Sunday we drove back into 1770, had a quick browse at the small local market where Alex bought Okra, then walked out to Round Hill Head. We also stopped briefly at the Lieutenant James Cook Monument Cairn and then had morning tea at a local park. 1770 was named because this was where Lieutenant James Cook (not yet a captain) made the first landfall by a European on what was to become Queensland. Afterwards we drove through Agnes Water into Deepwater National Park. We stopped for a look at Flat Rock and then visited Wreck Rock where we also walked along the beach and the rocks. A howling onshore easterly wind was blowing, so we didn't feel the need to swim. The sandy 4WD tracks of Deepwater brought back fond memories of Fraser Island, although we encountered a lot more 4WDs than on Fraser. We spent the afternoon relaxing back at the caravan park and then packed up (with everyone else) on the Monday public holiday.

---

Photos

Agnes Water Beach
Surf's up, at least for long boarders

The Palace, Childers
Restored Backpackers Hostel burnt down in 2000, causing 15 deaths