Barcaldine to Charters Towers

















Arnos wall



We arrived at Barcaldine on Wednesday 11 May. The caravan park put on free damper and billy tea which was a good start. The next morn we visited the tree of knowledge in the town but unfortunately nothing of the tree's sagacity rubbed off on Marty. The tree has important links to the foundation of what is now the Australian Labor Party. We also visited the Australian Worker's Heritage Museum in the town which celebrates the town's role in the first shearer's strikes. We were going to look at more things in the town but, being thirsty, decided to go to the Shakespeare Hotel for lunch instead. I ordered a Chick Parmi which, when it was served, could have fed some small countries for a week. When we commented on its size the staff advised that they only serve the really big ones for evening meals. We were joined by Dave and Angela, two Brisbanites originally from Northern Ireland who were also staying at the caravan park. After a few beers we gave up any thoughts of sightseeing and adjourned to the caravan park with Dave and Angela and had a few more quiet beers and some not so quiet bundies. Marty accepted an invite to see Angela's beaver. Please refer to our facebook site for video evidence.

On Black Friday we travelled to Longreach and stayed in a very dodgy caravan park. We visited the Stockman's Hall of Fame and the QANTAS museum where we toured a 747 jet. I also wing walked on the plane while Marty listened to the footy (the Kangaroos won so apparently it was all worthwhile).

Winton was the next stop where we toured the Waltzing Matilda Museum. Marty always tears up when he hears Waltzing Matilda so it was an interesting visit to a really good museum. We are now experts on Banjo Paterson and the poem but this will probably only last a few days. We visited the other tourist attractions in the town including Arno's Wall (a collection of junk concreted into a wall) and the musical fence. Lastly we visited the Australian Age of Dinosaurs, a working scientific preparation area where palaeontologists and volunteer work collaboratively to piece together the various pieces of dinosaur bones found in the area into 2 dinos.

A highlight was the bush poet evenings put on by the caravan park. Marty often sprouts forth bawdy verse and met his match. The bush poets, called the 2 short sheilas, were very entraining. It was interesting that in a former life one of the ladies was a senior CPSU organiser working with the new Chief Minister. Their travelling two-woman show combines fair dinkum humour with their passion for our unique Aussie heritage as they perform comic, original and traditional bush verse. One of the bush poems that Susan recited was written by Roy Wheeler my high school principal. We stayed at the Matilda Country Tourist Park and we once again enjoyed the company of fellow campers Ian and Diane who were from the Sunshine Coast.



Sheilas in the Shed



Walking with Dinosaurs