A road trip with friends

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Leaving Townsville we head for Winton where we will meet our friends, we have traveled this road before and so it holds no surprises for us.Winton is to far in one day so we break our journey in Hughenden staying at the local racecourse carpark for a small fee.Reaching Winton the next day we are the first to arrive and strike a deal with the new owners of the caravan park to have two sites side by side, our friends are in a tent and will rely on us for power.We have not seen these friends for over two years but when they arrive it seems like we saw them only yesterday.Once settled into our park we head for the local pub and dinner,the Tattersalls Hotel was to become a favorite watering hole during our short stay if only because of Amy one of the bar staff with a quirky sense of humor and abounding energy.

Winton is a long way inland and has a fascinating history and claim to fame.Settled by Europeans in 1873 and originally named Pelican Waterhole, Robert Allen the first Hotelier and store owner changed the name to Winton , a suburb in his home town in England.Winton grew on the back of sheep and other livestock and was and still is surrounded by massive sheep and cattle stations, only 120klms from Winton is Opal country where Opals have been mined intermittently since 1893 and Opalton remains a major centre of Queensland's Opal mining.Following the two shearers strikes in 1891 and 1894 during which time the town was under martial law perhaps the most famous poet in Australia visited the area, A.B. " Banjo " Patterson came to visit friends at Dagworth station following the death of a swagman and the burning of a shearing shed at Dagworth.His friends sister played him a tune and Banjo put it to words, the result was Waltzing Matilda a song so much loved by Australians that many regard it as the unofficial anthem of Australia. Legend has it that the song was first performed in April 1895 at the North Gregory Hotel in Winton and so history was born.

Quantas the flying kangaroo and Australias first airline began in Winton, when on the 16/November/1920 the first board meeting of the newly formed Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Service (QANTAS ) was held at the Winton club. Winton Shire Council became the first local authority to support an airline by contributing to the acquisition of the first landing field for QUANTAS, the first plane landed here on 7 February 1921.

The water for Winton and surrounds comes from Artesian bores, four in all and around 1.2 kilometres deep emerging at at a temperature of 83oC,cooled to 44oC before being reticulated into the town supply.A strong odour from the water which is rich in minerals and hydrogen sulfide gas is at first off putting but once the water is boiled or left to stand the gas escapes leaving a magnificent tasting water .

A little known fact about Winton is that in 1942 a US Air Force b17 made a forced landing at Carisbrooke station a large cattle station bordering on the outskirts of Winton, on board with other officers was Lieutenant Commander L.B.Johnson .Later to become the US President.

Winton is smack in the middle of dinosaur country and the Australian Age of Dinosaurs is a museum focused on Australia's evolutionary history and is situated just 24 km from Whinton. Dedicated to the discovery,conservation and research of Australia's dinosaurs,it is a working musuem and laboratory investigating bone fossils of 95 million year old dinosaurs found in the Winton area.This museum is part of the Dinosaur drive some 240km long taking in other exhibitions and sites of interest.

There are many attractions, points of interest in and around Winton which deserve time to explore and enjoy but we are here only for a couple of days and need to prioritise our time.Our first visit / tour is to the the Waltzing Matilda Centre which tells the story of the song Waltzing Matilda through interactive exhibits and audio displays included in the centre is the Outback Regional Gallery with ever changing exibitions and the Qandtilda Pioneer Place which traces the history of Winton with artifacts and outback memorabilia from the town and surrounds, this is a place not to be missed and requires at least a morning or afternoon to appreciate the exhibitions.

A visit to The Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum just out of Winton is a journey 95 million years in the making.This working museum offers tours around the facility allowing the public a glimpse into the findings and the work currently being carried out by both volunteers and paid technicians.Watching stone carefully being removed and revealing dinosaur bone is fascinating. Our tour guide is both informative and enthusiastic leading us through the first finding by a local farmer of a dinosaur bone to the forming of the current museum and largest collection in the world of Australian dinosaur fossils. Just one of many exhibitions on the dinosaur trail but one not to be missed.

Not far out of Winton is Bladensburg National Park home to the historical Bladensburg homestead once a thriving sheep and cattle station grazing thousands of sheep and 1000 cattle. Dating back to the early 1900,s the homestead gives an opportunity to ponder life as it was then as you walk around this historic homestead.The remaining buildings offer an insight into the conditions that prevailed in the early years including the shearing shed which was last used in 1993.A leaflet giving a walking guide around the homestead is available at the entrance to the homestead which also tells the story of the homestead using anecdotal writings from past workers who lived on the station. Whilst here we take a short drive out along one of the many tracks leading into the station and find a dry waterhole and escarpment with some beautiful views and vista across this arid landscape.What a great day out.

Our next destination is Birdsville but not before we stop and stay one night at Boulia, Birdsville is too far in one day.As we make our way we stop at Middleton once a stage coach stop the town is now best known for the Middleton Hotel a classic Aussie pub.and the namesake of our travelling companions Michael and Valda Middleton.We reach Boulia which is famous for it's association with the MIN MIN Light a strange spectral light that can appear,hover, disappear and reappear with an eerie will of it's own.Most often described as a hovering luminescent ball , the light has teased travelers, never approaching close enough to be clearly examined,scientist are baffled to explain this phenomenon.The famous Burke and Wills also passed this way on their journey to the gulf.Alas we are only stopping overnight only enough time to walk the main street buy some items at the local supermarket and taste a cold one at the local pub.The roads so far have been sealed but the next part of our journey to Birdsville will take us on some single track and gravel roads.Half way we stop and refuel at Bedourie a small town offering the traveller fuel,food and accommodation and I am sure a lot more but we must push on to Birdsville.Our journey is on a single track sealed road punctuated by lengthy stretches of gravel and some corrugations.We have chosen this time to visit Birdsville to avoid the famous Birdsville races and the thousands of racegoers that flock there every year.

Birdsville is situated within the Diamantina Shire which is true frontier country bordering on the Simpson desert and Sturt's Stony desert, the town was once considered as one of the most roughest and hazardous destinations.1845 saw the first European to visit the area when Charles Sturt came searching for an inland sea.In 1860 Burke and Wills set up camp 76 on their return trip to the Gulf of Carpentaria, a mark on a Coolibah tree still seen today is attributed to Robert Burke.Early 1870,s saw merchant Matthew Flynn crossed the river Diamantina and establish a depot which was known as Diamantina Crossing now more famously known as Birdsville, which became the customs point for stock and supplies entering South Australia.Through it's chequered history Birdsville has seen some outstanding events including the legendary Captain Starlight a notorious cattle thief who stole a vast herd of Queensland cattle and showing outstanding bushcraft drove them south to Adelaide where they were sold. He effectively pioneered the Birdsville Track . When caught no jury of his Queensland peers would find him guilty.

Birdsville continued to grow and in 1884 the railroad reached Marree all the way from Adelaide, the interior was beginning to open up. Afghan camel traders continued to carry supplies up the Birdsville track until the late 1930,s covering 520km in six weeks leading over one hundred camels from bore to bore.Food being the main priority with alcohol a firm second. Pastoral occupation and development began in the 1870,s leading to a droving era lasting over 90 years in which time vast numbers of cattle were move along the Birdsville stock route.Many famous names are associated with this area including Burke and Wills, Sir Sydney Kidman an visionary of his time who built up an empire of holdings from the Gulf of Carpentaria to Adelaide including thousands of hectares in the area, his holdings were larger than England.Ted Colson the first white man to cross the desert in 1936 must have been pleased to see a welcoming sight such as the Birdsville Pub at the end of his trek. Tom Kruze the Birdsville track mailman made famous by the film " Back of Beyond " would take great pleasure in telling stories of times gone by including pouring your beer into a saucer and blowing on it to keep it cool and the fly's away, back before refrigeration. The Birdsville pub was built in 1884 two years after the first Birdsville races took place, a tradition that continues today on the first Saturday of September, at which time over 7000 visitors descend on this small outback town.

Our visit took place the week after the races deliberately to avoid the crowds although I am sure a good time was had by all those attending the races.The camping site which has over 50 powered sites is now mostly deserted and we can choose our sites to suit ourselfs. Settled in we set off to explore the town and to find the iconic Birdsville pub. a walk around the town reveals there is not a lot here to see although it is steeped in history. We visit the local bakery which must be the only bakery in Australia boasting a liquor licence, they also provide meals on a Friday evening, guess where we had dinner.Famous also for their outback pies we all sampled their offerings the next day with curried camel pie on offer yummy.However the iconic Birdsville Hotel to give it it's full title was the main attraction in town and we were not disappointed. The bar is steeped in history and adorned by all manner of memorabilia including old drovers hats and artifacts from days gone by. A warm welcome, cold beer and stories from the distant past, what more could a man want. This is a truly magnificent monument to the outback and should be on every Australians bucket list. Although quiet following the departure of the racegoers there are still numerous visitors to this town including a group of people following the stock routes of Australia by Air, flying from one station to another in all there were five small planes on this excursion carrying about sixteen passengers, what a way to see the outback. Another draw for visitors is the nearby desert with a particular sand hill called Big Red a must climb for all 4x4 enthusiast although many have failed and have needed to be rescued,we declined to attempt the drive being in only one car ( Michaels)and no one else around to attempt a rescue if we got stuck.We walked up instead and what a view, well worth the effort with countless desert tracks and sandunes as far as the eye could see.Many people in all sorts of vehicles from 4x4 cars and trucks to motorcycles have travelled across the Simpson desert and many have failed and had to be rescued and some never made it at all, it is a harsh place to travel and crossing the desert in summer is prohibited with temperatures reaching as much as 55oC.

We have come to the end of our visit here and we leave with the satisfaction of having visited an iconic place in Australian history and take away memories and photographs of a wonderful place.We backtrack our way here along the gravel and sealed roads stopping again at Bedourie to refuel this little town with a population of only 120 people it is the administration centre of the huge 95,000 square kilometres of Diamantina Shire.The town also hosts it's own horse racing event the week after the Birdsville cup. Bedourie is also home to the Bedourie Camp Oven a small camp oven first produced by a local tinsmith in 1920 the oven went on to replace the cast iron ovens carried by drovers which were often breaking down under the Australian harsh conditions.R.M. Williams began selling a refined oven made of spun steel with a tight fitting lid in 1945 and in 2001 the Australian government recognised the significant contribution to out back life made by this oven and noted it as "Uniquely Australian" and even named a street in ACT after it.Bedourie has other attractions and places of interest but we must move on our next stop an overnight stay again at Boulia before heading for Mount Isa.

We set up our camp in a caravan park that Jackie and I have stayed at before which is just a short drive out of Mount Isa.The City of Mt Isa owes it's beginnings to Prospector John Campbell Miles who discovered lead ore while travelling through the region now known as Mt Isa in 1923.By the end of 1923 118 leases had been registered and a small store made of hessian and iron was established among the camps.Mount Isa Mines Ltd company was formed in 1924 and by 1925 had acquired all the leases.The town grew rapidly from here with dwellings being constructed by the company to house it's workers, the town grew into a thriving although isolated community providing all the necessary infrastructure required to keep the growing population serviced, including a court house ,school, hospital and a pub.History tells of major leaps forward for The Isa as it is commonly called with highs and lows for the mining company which has grown to become the largest creator of export income in Australia.The town weathered the depression of the 1930,s and went on to become a thriving mining town to be declared a City in 1968 after becoming a Shire 1963.The City maps out it's history with a unique visitor attraction Outback at Isa this centre provides the visitor with all the information they need to go on and explore the Isa as well as providing a detailed history of the region and it's heritage.Many attractions and excursions are available in and around Mount Isa including a underground mine tour,a tour of the Mount Isa school of the air and many others.Our travelling companions Michael and Valda are keen to see the underground hospital as are we.Built into a hill alongside the existing hospital in 1942 fearing that the Japanese would bomb Mt Isa after bombing Darwin earlier in the year.The underground tunnels were dug out by volunteers from the mine with supply's being provided by the mining company.When completed the hospital was fully equipped with surgical,medical and maternity facilities an out patients department and operating theater. The facility was never used for what it was intended and instead became a cool place for night staff to sleep and was also used for storage for the above ground hospital.Following the end of the war the underground hospital fell into disuse and in the early 1950,s the entrances were covered with earth and was soon completely forgotten.!n 1977 the hospital was rediscovered by workers probing for a reason for subsidence in the area. The hospital has since been rejuvenated and stands as a monument to the ingenuity of the people of the time and the volunteers that made it happen.Open to the public for tours the exhibits and tunnels are an insight into harder times. Adjacent to the underground hospital is a tent house, a quick fix house made of canvas walls and a tin roof as many as 300 of these houses were inhabited by miners in the early 50,s and 60,s ,again an example how people made do and got on with life in tough times.Our visit took us all by surprise, manned by volunteers we marveled at the displays of 1940,s equipment on display and the conditions that prevailed at that time, history stood still for all of us to see.

Having been to the Isa several times we had missed out on the underground hospital tour and now feel we have seen the Isa complete.Our friends and travelling companions Michael and Valda however had not been here before and continued to explore the city.We met up for a picnic lunch at Lake Mooddarra a lake built by the mining company and completed in 1958 now provides the city,s water supply as well as being a great recreational facility for the residents of Mt Isa with all manner of water sports taking place.Mt Isa a thriving mining City with a rich and interesting history well worth a visit.Our time together has come to an end and our friends must return home to welcome family visitors on holiday, we will continue on our travels and head back to Townsville for another visit to the caravan repair yard hopefully for the last time.

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Photos

Winton
We arrive at winton

Winton
Novelty rubbish bin holder

Winton
Time for a sit down

Winton
The Tattersall Hotel in Winton

Happy customer

And another one

Winton
Exhibits outside in the Waltzing Matilda centre

Winton
Posters outside the Dinosaurs exhibition

Winton
Inside the laboratory

Winton
Technicians working on fossils

Winton
Careful removal of rock surrounding the fossils

Winton
Racks of preserved dinosaur fossils waiting to be worked on

Winton
Racks of fossilised dinosaur bones waiting for examination

Winton
Reconstruction of a small dinosaur

Winton
specimens laid out for viewing