Outback Queensland

Here is a brief run down of where we we've been in outback Queensland. This top photo is at the Stockman's Hall of Fame in Longreach. Note the Qantas tail in the background as this town is also known as the home of Qantas - this is where the airline originated....

We stayed at the caravan park in Ilfrracombe (30 km from Longreach). The village has all of 50 residents and is simply charming. They have the 'Mechanical Mile' which is a display along the highway of old farm machinery and each piece has a story attached. Very interesting. The pub here served the coldest beer around....

The street names in Longreach have no bearing on the local history but are named after birds - north/south streets after land birds and east/west streets after water birds.
This intersection caught our eye -

In Blackall we visited the site of the famous "Black Stump". Australians will know the importance of this landmark. It was a surveyors mark (truly was a tree stump) that all was measured from. In Oz the 'Black Stump' is synonymous with being a long way from anywhere so if, as in this photo, you are 'Beyond the Black Stump' you might as well fall of the face of the earth...... The alternative is to be on 'This Side of the Black Stump' (photo not included) which is still a long way from anywhere.

We stayed a couple of days in Barcaldine and saw the Tree of Knowledge which is the birthplace of the Australian union movement and Labor Party. This is the site of a notorious shearers strike in the 1800s. The town is very worker/union oriented and has a large display of the proud heritage and history of the Australian union movement...

Every town, of course, has it's pubs - never only one.......... The town of Ravenswood is no exception. This old gold mining town has seen better days and was once quite thriving but today is a collection of old shoppes, a courthouse, jail, police station, primary school and two pubs. The Imperial Hotel was one of many pubs but now shares its clientele with only one other hotel. We had a counter lunch here and loved the old charm of the pub and the town....