Barcaldine - named the garden city of the west. The name originates from the Oban region in Scotland. Donald Charles Cameron was one of the first settlers in the district and a direct descendent of the Campbell's of Barcaldine Castle. He settled on a parcel of land fronting the Alice River and immediately named it Barcaldine Downs. Barcaldine has had a colourful past which centered around the Great Shearers Strike of 1891 and is the home of the Tree of Knowledge. This historic tree was a Ghost Gum which grew outside the Railway Station for a period of 180 years. Sadly it was poisoned in 2006 by an unknown culprit. During the Shearers Strike meetings were held in the shade of the old gum tree and so it became known as the Tree of knowledge. Salvation Army meetings were also held under this tree and their name for it was "The Alleuia Tree"
We also visited the Australian Workers Heritage Centre which pays tribute to the lives of ordinary workers both past and present who have contributed to the shaping of our nation. Clare is sitting on what is known as "The Seat of Knowledge" - probably a lost cause!

This is the outback - Sandy Creek and not a drop of water in sight. The wet season is from Dec - March and when the rains arrive the whole land transforms into another world. Some areas have flood markers of up to 6 feet. The horizon is so clear and goes on forever as there is no pollution and because there are hardly any streetlights and big buildings the nightsky is magnificant. So many more stars and planets to see. The outback has its own unique beauty everywhere you look.

Next stop is Ifracombe just 27 kms south of Longreach. It is a town whose heart pumps history, putting its soul on display even to the point of being a little absurd - well everyone has a hub cap museum don't they! As you drive into town one of the world's longest museums peels away down the main street. This is the Machinery Mile and Heritage Display where you will be able to trace the history of pastoral and community development from early walking beam drilling rigs to early graders, tractors, pumps and fireploughs- just about every bit of heavy metal needed establish a sheep station, make a town and keep the roads passable. It graphically displays the challanges faced by earlt pioneers. Just down the road is the Qantas Founders Museum. The first airline to fly around the world. When you see some of the really early models you wonder how they got off the ground but when you compare the latest addition to the museum - retired Boeing 747 - and the size of it , you again wonder how it ever got off the ground! Weight on landing at Longreach was 185 tonnes - but it had to be stripped of many internal features to be able to land safely at Longreach on 16th November 2002. Maximum takeoff weight is 377.84 tonnes

Winton - the home of Waltzing Matilda a song penned by Banjo Paterson 110 years ago and embraced by the Australian people as our unofficial national anthem. The museum is the only attraction in the world dedicated to a song! The local paper "The Queenslander" wrote on 6 July 1896 - "Winton can be hot and the Wintonettes grow very thirsty. To provide for contingencies in this direction SIX large hotels have been built, drinks only 6d. There is ONE church and that is in debt. The police records, however, do not show the people to be any more wicked than those in most inland Qld towns". We had a very enjoyable 3 day stay at the Waltzing Matilda Tourist Park where every night we were treated to great entertainment by 2 female Bush Poets who were absolutely halarious. Every night they had different material, jokes n verse. You really know you are in the outback when something breaks down. Our transformer for changing 240v to 12v went kaput. Once gone they have to be replaced and the closest agent for us at Winton was either Mt Isa or Emerald, both over 200kms away. So we are without internal lights and the radio for the rest of the trip. Just as well we have a gas lamp to read by at night. Other travellers have told tales of having to wait up to 4 - 6 days for car parts etc to arrive before they can continue on their trip- we city folk sure do take a lot for granted.

Next stop Hughenden a small town of about 1200 pop. It's claim to fame is part of the Dinosaur Trail, Richmond - Hughenden - Winton. Quaint little town but if you want to see anything you have to travel about 120 kms round trip on your day off! Needless to say we couldn't just sit around and not look so we went out to the Porcupine Gorge which did not disappoint. The rock formation in the second photo is called "The Pyramid" for obvious reasons. The 1st photo is the roads you have to share with the Road Trains and other caravans so most of the time you are half on and half off with the allowed speed limit of 100k's and the only ones doing that are the truckies.