Carnarvon Gorge to Longreach
Carnarvon to Alpha - 18 June 2021
Our five days at Carnarvon came to an end, and now the next part of our journey was ahead and we eagerly hit the road in the beautiful morning light, drinking in the fresh air and beckoning countryside. We refuelled at Rolleston, but were a little disappointed that we were too early for the Coffee Cart in the Park. Drop in after 9:00 during the winter months and you can enjoy a hot coffee and a tasty cake or slice in a lovely park surrounded by history. We had enjoyed doing this a few years ago and were impressed that the volunteers who man it support local community projects. We followed the Dawson Highway to Emerald, then turned west. Emerald to Alpha was new territory for us and we continued to relish the open road as it led into flatter and drier country. We made Alpha in the early afternoon and had plenty of time to explore this very small town. The population is probably about 300, but many travellers pass through on their way west. We had heard the bakery served a great pie, but they had sold out. We managed to salvage the last two sausage rolls, and they were pretty good. |
The town is known for its murals There are twenty-seven in all on public buildings, telling stories of rural life in the region. The murals took off after a group of local artists painted a wall in 1991 and today they have become a focal point for Alpha.
The murals are not the only impressive art works in the town. There is a beautiful sculpture located in Shakespeare Street, known as the Fossilised Forest of Alpha. The sculpture represents the Alpha District's prehistoric landscape and also present and future. The sculpture was designed by Antone Bruinsma and constructed by him and members of the local community, completed in April 2012. It is made from a range of materials such as helidon freestone, imperial black granite from South Australia, zeolite and petrified wood from Alpha and surrounding districts.
We stayed in a self contained cabin at the local caravan park that night, which was spacious and comfortable. Next morning on the way out of town at Settler's Park we discovered two more incredible sculptures that looked stunning in the morning light. "Scrapmetalsheila," a Metal Sculpture Artist also known as Milynda Rogers is responsible for these and quite a few other sculptures in other outback towns. We are planning to see many more of her works on the Lake Dunn Sculpture Trail.
In 2019 the Alpha District Tourism and Development Association hosted this local artist in Alpha for a week for a Wire Sculpture Workshop and to construct a Barbed Wire Bull. Daisy and Snowflake, the cow and calf, also commissioned by the town, only just beat us to Alpha by a few days.
In 2019 the Alpha District Tourism and Development Association hosted this local artist in Alpha for a week for a Wire Sculpture Workshop and to construct a Barbed Wire Bull. Daisy and Snowflake, the cow and calf, also commissioned by the town, only just beat us to Alpha by a few days.
Alpha to Barcaldine - 19 June 2021
It was still early as we passed through the next tiny community of Jericho and we were delighted to meet another sculpture by Milynda Rogers. Jericho is a tiny rural service centre in a predominantly cattle-growing area. It is most likely that the origin of the name Jericho is a rather elaborate outback joke. One of the early settlers, in the 1850s was a man named Harry Jordan after whom a local river - the Jordan River - was named. Some wit, noticing that a settlement was developing on the banks of the Jordan River, decided it should be named Jericho.
The town exploit its very dubious religious connections. In 1988 as a Bicentennial Project, the town decided to construct the 'Crystal Trumpeters' in memory of the Biblical story where the Israelites marched around the walls of Jericho for six days then blew their trumpets on the seventh day and watched as the city walls collapsed. In 2014 the sculpture you see below (Joshua the Trumpeter of Jericho) was erected nearby.
It was still early as we passed through the next tiny community of Jericho and we were delighted to meet another sculpture by Milynda Rogers. Jericho is a tiny rural service centre in a predominantly cattle-growing area. It is most likely that the origin of the name Jericho is a rather elaborate outback joke. One of the early settlers, in the 1850s was a man named Harry Jordan after whom a local river - the Jordan River - was named. Some wit, noticing that a settlement was developing on the banks of the Jordan River, decided it should be named Jericho.
The town exploit its very dubious religious connections. In 1988 as a Bicentennial Project, the town decided to construct the 'Crystal Trumpeters' in memory of the Biblical story where the Israelites marched around the walls of Jericho for six days then blew their trumpets on the seventh day and watched as the city walls collapsed. In 2014 the sculpture you see below (Joshua the Trumpeter of Jericho) was erected nearby.
We made it to Barcauldine for breakfast and grabbed a pie for brunch from the bakery before they could sell out. Then by 9:30 we were on the road to Aramac, where we would continue the trip to Lake Dunn. Aramac is 67 km north of Barcaldine and the road is sealed. We drove under a wide sky with ever changing cloud patterns.
From Aramac we continued on the sealed road to Lake Dunn. The many sculptures along this road are spectacular, and what makes them even more impressive than their construction is their placement in such a spacious gallery. Each is close to the road and has plenty of space for stopping to get out and admire them from all angles.
White Station Healing Circle is about 30 km NE of Aramac. The modern stone healing circle is reputedly connected to other healing circles in Japan, Tibet, Madagascar, Peru, Turkey and the USA. When the visitor steps into the centre they are supposed to be connected to the energies of all seven circles. The circle is used for prayer, meditation and healing of the mind, body and soul. It is located on private property so be respectful of your surroundings.
You have to climb a short distance up to the circle, which sits on a flat outcrop overlooking the country below. There is a track further up to the top of the hill, which I decided to climb. There is nothing on top, except for a fantastic view. Well worth the climb. It was like stepping into an Albert Namatjira painting.
You have to climb a short distance up to the circle, which sits on a flat outcrop overlooking the country below. There is a track further up to the top of the hill, which I decided to climb. There is nothing on top, except for a fantastic view. Well worth the climb. It was like stepping into an Albert Namatjira painting.
Feeling healed, we continued on to Lake Dunn, which is located 68 km north east of Aramac. The freshwater lake is 3.2 km long and 1.6 km wide. and is popular with locals who use it for swimming, water-skiing, windsurfing, sailing, camping and for picnics. The other two sides of the Sculpture Trail triangle are along dirt roads, and though we were assured our little car could handle it, we decided we may be cutting the time fine, so we returned to Aramac on the bitumen, vowing to return and complete the whole trail some time in the near future. The trip back was just as interesting looking at the sculptures again along the way.
The tiny rural settlement of Aramac in Central Queensland has revitalised itself by carefully promoting the story of Harry Redford and the white bull - to such a point that there are small white bulls scattered around the town, named in accordance with the businesses they stand near. As well, a huge white bull stands in the centre of the main street. We enjoyed having a look around before heading back to Barcaldine for a beer and a feed of beef fit to feed an entire army. I kid you not. Luckily we had ice and an esky to carry the left overs. That rump fed us for three more days.
Barcaldine to Longreach - 20 June 2021
It is only just over 100 km to Longreach, so the next morning we had plenty of time to look around Barcaldine. The Tree of Knowledge Memorial was of great interest, especially reading the history that it represents. In October 2006 the Heritage-listed 'Tree of Knowledge", a ten metre tall ghost gum, was poisoned with Roundup by persons unknown. It had been a meeting place for shearers during the strike of 1891 and was deemed to be of such importance to Australian industrial and labour history that an architect-designed Tree of Knowledge memorial was constructed using the original site in Oak Street and using the dead trunk of the original tree. The sculpture, standing outside the town's railway station, features a striking 18 metre high cube in which 4,000 suspended timbers of varying length form the tree canopy.
It is only just over 100 km to Longreach, so the next morning we had plenty of time to look around Barcaldine. The Tree of Knowledge Memorial was of great interest, especially reading the history that it represents. In October 2006 the Heritage-listed 'Tree of Knowledge", a ten metre tall ghost gum, was poisoned with Roundup by persons unknown. It had been a meeting place for shearers during the strike of 1891 and was deemed to be of such importance to Australian industrial and labour history that an architect-designed Tree of Knowledge memorial was constructed using the original site in Oak Street and using the dead trunk of the original tree. The sculpture, standing outside the town's railway station, features a striking 18 metre high cube in which 4,000 suspended timbers of varying length form the tree canopy.
The road west continued on, straight and flat and filled with more and more caravans. We stopped in Ilfracome to walk along Machinery Mile and have a beer in their interesting pub. The small settlement was originally known as Wellshot after the huge property which dominated the area. When the railway arrived in 1891 it was decided to rename the settlement Ilfracombe, after the town in Devon, England. Today Ilfracombe is a tiny settlement on the vast flat plains of western Queensland with a single hotel, a cafe, a few houses and a remarkable "Great Machinery Mile" museum which stretches the length of the town.
Longreach - 20 to 23 June 2021
And so, we reached Longreach, the largest town in central Queensland. Located on the Tropic of Capricorn it services an ever-growing tourism industry which has been driven by the success of the Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame and the Qantas Founders Outback Museum. It is also an important rural service centre for one of the state's most prosperous wool and beef areas.
We checked into the Coach Inn, a self contained, spacious unit located in the heart of town and were happy to stay put for three nights after our long days of driving so far. We have been to Longreach before and didn't feel the need to retrace all our previous steps, but we did plan to revisit the Stockman's Hall of Fame, which has had a makeover and update since our last visit. We happily wondered around for hours, soaking up history, shedding quiet tears as we sat in a bark hut listening to Henry Lawson's famous short story, "The Drover's Wife", and generally rekindling our Austalian-ness. This really should be on everyone's must do list when in Longreach.
And so, we reached Longreach, the largest town in central Queensland. Located on the Tropic of Capricorn it services an ever-growing tourism industry which has been driven by the success of the Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame and the Qantas Founders Outback Museum. It is also an important rural service centre for one of the state's most prosperous wool and beef areas.
We checked into the Coach Inn, a self contained, spacious unit located in the heart of town and were happy to stay put for three nights after our long days of driving so far. We have been to Longreach before and didn't feel the need to retrace all our previous steps, but we did plan to revisit the Stockman's Hall of Fame, which has had a makeover and update since our last visit. We happily wondered around for hours, soaking up history, shedding quiet tears as we sat in a bark hut listening to Henry Lawson's famous short story, "The Drover's Wife", and generally rekindling our Austalian-ness. This really should be on everyone's must do list when in Longreach.
One of the most enjoyable things we did while here was to take the Starlight's Cruise on the Thomson River at sunset. I had taken the 4.5 km walk from town to the Thomson one afternoon and enjoyed the serenity, but sunset was even more beautiful. A bus collected us from town and we boarded the old paddle wheeler with a captain full of outback stories, not all totally true I suspect. One titbit of useful information he imparted was how to remember how to spell the river's name. He said the river is quite clean because there is no P in it.
It was BYO trip, but tasty treats of cheese and local dried fruits and meat were served as we headed first towards the rising moon, and then back towards the sunset. There's something about the day's end that brings a hush over the land that calms souls and heartbeats to slower rhythms. I am sure our lives would be a whole lot better if we took time to step outside each evening to appreciate the sunset, the moonrise, the stars, the quietening of the birds at dusk. It's easier in the country, but possible in the city.
It was BYO trip, but tasty treats of cheese and local dried fruits and meat were served as we headed first towards the rising moon, and then back towards the sunset. There's something about the day's end that brings a hush over the land that calms souls and heartbeats to slower rhythms. I am sure our lives would be a whole lot better if we took time to step outside each evening to appreciate the sunset, the moonrise, the stars, the quietening of the birds at dusk. It's easier in the country, but possible in the city.
After the cruise we returned to the campsite where we were entertained by our bus driver and the cook with songs, stories and jokes around a campfire. Soon we were served a delicious stew that had been simmering on the fire in camp ovens. It was soooo tasty. Dessert was apple pie, also delicious. The cook did an excellent job, and the full moon only enhanced the meal.
With our bellies full, we moved to the theatre for more entertainment - a movie under the stars about Captain Starlight. The quality of this film was outstanding - packed with information using real characters moving through the scenery of paintings.
Captain Starlight is the infamous Harry Readford (spelt Redford in Qld), a drover I have mentioned before (see the Lake Dunn Sculpture Trail) who. is immortalised in the outback. |
In 1870, bushman Henry 'Harry' Readford pulled off an elaborate heist. He stole 1,000 head of cattle from Bowen Downs Station and drove them from near Longreach down into South Australia to sell. Redford and his men blazed a trail across the rugged western Queensland outback and down what became known as the Strezlecki Track. He learned to navigate by the stars from local Indigenous groups, earning him the nickname Captain Starlight. It was one of the biggest cattle heists in the world but a jury found him not guilty and the story entered outback folklore. His story partly inspired a character in the classic novel Robbery Under Arms.
Our night ended with a cup of billy tea and damper smothered in Golden Syrup, then a few more stories from our driver on the bus trip home. It was an exceptional experience provided by "Outback Pioneers" and I can't recommend it highly enough. It was a fitting end to our stay in Longreach. Tomorrow we head for Winton.
Our night ended with a cup of billy tea and damper smothered in Golden Syrup, then a few more stories from our driver on the bus trip home. It was an exceptional experience provided by "Outback Pioneers" and I can't recommend it highly enough. It was a fitting end to our stay in Longreach. Tomorrow we head for Winton.