Tambo to Longreach.....

The next morning with the washing drying on the line we set out to explore this lovely little town.  Everyone was very friendly and we were even given a gift for visiting.  A Tambo toilet roll suitably endorsed with an adaptation of the poem by Banjo Patterson - 'On the outer Barcoo where churches are few' - very quirky I must say.

We wandered along the street stopping to look at the 1888 Historic Courthouse, now the information centre.  As it was the largest room in town the courtroom furniture was made mobile so it could be removed and used for community functions as well as a court.

Over the road we wandered through the Post and Telegraph Office buildings and enjoyed the step back in time.  The video presentations from many of the locals in town were entertaining as well as informative.  This building was once the Shire Office but is used for the community.

We found out that Tambo is said to be the oldest town in Queensland's Central West founded when settlers and selectors, moving to The Great Western Downs, used it as a camping area from 1862.  Once the people were here the Pub soon followed and by 1891 the population was 1057.  Today there are 385 people who call Tambo home.

A little further along the road we found the very quirky 'Wild and Wooly'.  The Tambo Truck is a sculpture representing a time when wool was king in the outback.  Created by a local artist, many of the locals and students helped source the material that enabled this quirky creation.

Of course we had to have a look at The Tambo Teddies as well but have left them in the shop as hard as it was.  One little teddie on holidays is just enough.

Bill wandered down to the lake and wetlands during the afternoon.  The lake has water in it for the first time in three years and the Coolibah walk beside was still very muddy after the last few weeks of rain. He got some great bird shots and enjoyed finally getting the camera out after the last few days of rain.  This cheeky Kookaburra was taking a keen interest in what he was doing.

The next morning we decided it was time to continue so left and made our way north stopping just up the road at Blackall and found another lovely little town full of local and national history.

Major Thomas Mitchell was the first European to explore this area in 1846 and this led to the area being opened up for settlement.  In 1946 the Major Mitchell Memorial Clock was unveiled and still stands in the Main Street today.

The Labor Federation Memorial stands across the road and memorialises the first meeting that led to the first shearers' Union in December 1886.  This group, together with others from nearby towns later became the Australian Labor Party.

Blackall is also home to The Black Stump Memorial.  The story board tells us that the 'petrified tree stump represents the observation site surveyors used to establish a principal meridional circuit traverse around the town in 1888.  The surveying was done to gain a more accurate basis for maps of Queensland.  Surveyors used the stump as a solid base for their transit while surveying and that is where the old saying is said to have come from'.  As time passed any country west of Blackall was considered to be 'Beyond the black stump'.  The original stump was lost to fire many years ago but the mural behind the stump shows how it would have looked in action.  And so at last we can truly say we have really been 'beyond the black stump'!

Back in the car we kept on until we found our home for the night at a free camp just out of Barcaldine. Another spot provided by the local council with toilets.  This camp is right beside the Cemetery so we knew we'd have no problem with the neighbours!  The sunset that night was just stunning.

The next morning we spent a couple of hours looking around.  A bigger town than we had been passing through Barcaldine also has a link to the Australian Labor Party.  The Tree of Knowledge Memorial stands in the Main Street and immediately you can see this is no ordinary tree.

The Ghost Gum here died some years ago and the memorial has been designed to recreate the size of the canopy of the tree in it's prime during the 1891 Great Shearers Strike.  It was this event that led to the birth of what we know now as the ALP.  The trunk of the tree has been preserved and a gigantic cube made from recycled timber has been placed above it.  Inside are hundreds of pieces of wood hanging from above representing the shearers blades.

A little further along the road we found the large windmill, a 1917 c pattern model which was originally erected at Back Creek on the site of the first flowing bore in Queensland.  A little further and we found the lovely old War Memorial Clock outside the old Post Office.  All in all a very interesting place to visit.

All touristed out we jumped back in the car and made our way up the highway and soon after found a spot to camp for the night.  Acres of room but still very soft from the rain so we set up on a patch of gravel.  It wasn't long before we had neighbours for the night as another four or five vans came in.  A couple of the lighter rigs went further afield but most of us stayed safely on the gravel.

We had been going to drive straight into Longreach the next day but couldn't pass the tiny town of Ilfracombe without stopping to look at their 'Great Machinery Mile'.  This is an amazing line up of historic machinery stretching for more than 1 km along the highway.

The display is a graphic timeline of mechanisation in the west and even for those of us not mechanically minded it is a fun way to see how these agricultural machines have changed over the years.

Once we had 'walked the mile' we were back on the road and soon after arrived at Longreach.  We found our camp ground, the Apex Riverside Park, set ourselves up and settled in for a few days.  We'll explore tomorrow.

Until then.......