Blackall and Longreach

Had a couple of nights in Blackall on our way to Longreach. Must say we are always impressed at how these small outback towns promote themselves and make the most of any natural and/or historic attractions. At Blackall there is a restored Wool Scour that is quite remarkable. It is the only one left now that Australia no longer 'rides on the sheep's back'. We're still a major sheep country, but all shorn fleece is now shipped to China for the necessary washing and scouring. The Blackall Wool Scour used hot water from the Artesian Basin along with a mighty steam engine to power the whole works. It was fully restored some years ago and is carefully maintained and quite a wonder to see just how efficient was that old technology. In its day tens of thousands sheep were brought here to be shorn with their fleece graded and processed at the same place. It was baled and loaded into a branch railway line to join up with the main line down to Brisbane for shipping.

We had a lovely day out looking over this Wool Scour and with the open grounds with a small mob of sheep - and one goat - Charley also was most interested.

Next town was Longreach, where we also stayed for a few days. 

An original Qantas hangar.

The town has two major attractions - firstly the wonderful Qantas Founders' Museum. The Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Service (Qantas) was founded in 1920 in Winton and moved its headquarters the following year to Longreach. It has an award winning, world-class museum and cultural display, with interative displays and videos, etc., to tell the history of our national airline. It also has on display a de Havilland DH-61 Giant Moth, de Havilland DH-50, and Avro 504K Dyak; Quantas' first aircraft as well as some more modern craft like a Catalina and a massive Boeing 747. Well worth visiting.

Secondly, the town has the Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame - a massive complex detailing much of the work of Australia's early outback settler families and the essential work of the stockmen/drovers on those vast cattle stations (ranches to non-Australians). 

Beautiful old Longreach Railway Station

The vast view from the Lookout

One day we drove about half and hour out of town where, in the middle of nowhere (it seems) is a mesa (jump-up) called Captain Starlight's Lookout. It's named after a bushranger character in Rolf Boldrewood's novel "Robbery Under Arms". 

There's no pathway but a very rough, rocky way to the top. It took about 15 minutes to scramble up - but in that time Charley was up and down about 4 times. The view from the top was well worth it - in any direction.

Three days is not long enough in Longreach!

Staying an extra few days gave us time to wash off some outback dust from our car and van and also do the essential clothes wash, too.

We had a final dinner at the local pub Bistro, and next morning, packed up and were on our way again.  

Quilpie to Charleville

We had an overnight stop at Quilpie on our way to Charleville. Quilpie is a nice, neat little town and the caravan park was spacious and had very good facilities – this includes an artesian bore which provided a very welcome hot outdoor spa for travellers – especially me! Nicely refreshed later that evening we walked out – with Charley – to the local pub for our evening meal which had an outdoor area for eating. It didn’t mind a well behaved dog waiting patiently for any little treats which might accidently fall from the table.

Next morning it was only a few hours’ drive to Charleville – a town we have visited before and like very much. It has quite a range of interesting sights – these range from a wonderful observatory (the night sky in this outback area is quite brilliant), a Bilby Experience (a small, cute but endangered Australian mammal), a drive through of a once secret WW2 American Airforce Base and a wonderful, huge old hotel built in the 1930s by a Greek immigrant Harry Corones. Before all that it was an important stop in droving days when the cattle were walked hundreds of miles to the railhead here to be loaded on trains for the Brisbane market.

All during the past few weeks while travelling through the Channel Country and further north into Queensland, I have been reading ‘Kidman – the Forgotten King’ (J Bowen, 1987) a biography of Sir Sidney Kidman who, in the late 1890s and the first half of the 1900s, built up an extensive empire by cattle dealing, droving and buying properties throughout this area. He ended up either owning or leasing more land than anyone else in the British Commonwealth and his cattle sales were legendary. It’s an incredible story and it is so interesting to think that he knew this land that we are travelling through very well and, in fact, owned so much of it.

The park we stay at is one of the friendliest camp and several times a week the proprietors offer a campfire dinner – You pay $19 each, byo chairs, plates, cutlery and drinks, and share in a delicious slow cooked dinner of beef stew and vegetables followed by Apple Sponge and billy tea. A delicious meal and nice to sit and talk to other campers by a lovely warm campfire.

Curious kangaroos near the old airbase.

We renewed our memory of past visits to Charleville by touring around the town and calling in at various places – the observatory, the Royal Flying Doctor base, Bilby Centre and the quite lovely old Railway Station. During the war over three and a half thousand soldiers/airmen manned a secret American Air Base here - and it was huge - and very top secret. It was based here because it was too far for enemy fighters to reach, but could safely maintain planes to despatch to northern bases. Over two hundred and fifty bombers left Charleville (refuelling at Charters Towers) enroute to the Battle of the Coral Sea. Only about 210 made it back.

Original decor of the very big public bar.

Lounge area (with open fire) of the old hotel.

After some housekeeping – the eternal washing and grocery shopping, then a lunch at the re-opened Corones Hotel, we were on our way again this time to Blackall on our way to another favourite place – Longreach.

Tibooburra and Noccundra

We rolled into Tibooburra, checked in at the local service station cum supermarket and booked into the only van park in this very old mining settlement. It is a popular place for small prospectors to come in the winter months with their gold detectors but there are some permanent prospectors who live here all year. This very small town has the reputation of being the hottest place in New South Wales but is beautifully comfortable in wintertime.

The very effective town sign with silhouettes of early settlers.

We quite like these small outback parks because as long as your dog is well behaved, they don't mind if he is off-leash - which certainly makes for a happy dog. Charley has proved to be a wonderful 'ice-breaker', as everyone, it seems, loves Border Collies and stops for a pat and then stays for a long chat.

Peter went off one day with Charley and his metal detector whilst I stayed at the van with a book and my knitting. Unfortunately when he returned - no gold nuggets yet. There's not a lot of attractions in Tibooburra, but we were told that pizza night at the local pub was the place to go on Sunday evening. While waiting for our order, we overhead a young family at the next table speaking in a foreign language. Peter guessed Sweden, and was proved right later when I started chatting with them. This Swedish couple were here in Australia for a year. He was a doctor working for the NSW Air Ambulance out of Sydney and Orange. This is similar to the Royal Flying Doctor Service, but for more urban areas nearer the coast. They had some leave so had come to see the 'outback' - and you can't get more outback than Tibooburra. No television reception (only with a satellite dish).

Cameron Corner with the Dog Fence

Next day we drove to Cameron Corner - the very remote spot where the corners of Queensland and New South Wales meet the border of South Australia. It is about a 300 kilometre round trip, and the road through the Sturt National Park not only has plenty of kangaroos and emus but has some wonderful scenery and from the top of the escarpment it was just breathtaking. On reaching the Corner, who did we meet but the Swedish family once again.

At Cameron Corner you can see the Dingo Fence or Dog Fence which is a pest-exclusion fence that was built during the 1880s and finished in 1885, to keep dingoes out of the relatively fertile south-east part of the continent (where they had largely been exterminated) and protect the sheep flocks of southern Queensland. It is one of the longest structures in the world and is the world's longest fence - around three thousand, five hundred miles long!

Back at Tibooburra a walk around the town showed us some interesting spots - even a small very rustic drive-in cinema (not in use) and a replica of the whaleboat which explorer Charles Sturt in 1844 brought up from Adelaide with his expedition believing he would find an inland sea. He finally gave up and abandoned the boat here in Tibooburra.

Also on display is a massive very ancient fossilised tree trunk found and excavated locally.

Moving on and checking road conditions, the next stop on our trip was an overnight free-camp on the banks of the Wilson River at Noccundra.

There is no town as such just a pub with a few motel units, fuel bowsers and alongside public showers and toilets. These latter facilities are used by the free-campers who like to stay by the river about half a kilometre away. Campers have to be self-reliant - there is no power or drinking water and you're definitely out of mobile phone range. No television either!

However you have a riverside spot with birdsong, peaceful and beautiful - and at night a campfire to sit around with stars above that are just brilliant.

Travelling on next day to Quilpie on our way to Charleville.