WINTON

13^th September, 2012

After an interesting night in the rest area with two other caravanners and an assortment of trucks and road trains coming and going we awoke to find a herd of cattle slowly wandering past.

Cattle grazing beside our Van

The cows were followed up by a large bull that didn’t seem contented with what was in his paddock.

The grass is always greener on the other side

We watched the cattle graze while we had breakfast and then drove one hundred kilometres to Winton

The main street of Winton

where we checked into the Pelican Caravan Park in the main street.  From here it was an easy walk to most of the touristy type attractions that this small town has to offer.  We passed at least four shops selling opals and with boulder opal fields to the south and west, Winton is a great place from which to start a fossicking trip.  Our first stop though is at the Waltzing Matilda Centre – a complex which houses the Information Centre, Westpac Bank, museum, galleries and a whole section devoted to a song written in 1895 by Banjo Paterson while staying at Dagworth Station to the north of Winton.

Statue of Banjo Paterson outside the Waltzing Matilda Centre

We didn’t think that we would ever get tired of hearing Waltzing Matilda but by the time we had worked our way to the back of the building we were glad to escape into the outside historical display area.  We’re not saying that the Theatrette and Legends Room were bad – in fact the ‘little people’ holograms were excellent – but it was a tad ‘over the top’ for us Aussies.  Out back in the yard was a great display with a steam train and railway station

Steam train and Railway Station

lots of machinery and a converted T Model Ford

T Model Ford's can be adapted for many uses

and an early 1900’s Four Wheel Drive SUV – with four wheel everything.

The Four Wheel Drive everything

There were displays of early pioneer stuff and lots of stories about the hardships faced by the settlers to the area.  Winton is also one of the towns where Qantas originally started so Wok spent quite a bit of time in that section of the museum.  By the time we finished working our way through all the displays it was lunchtime – so we headed back to the Van for a bite to eat before continuing to explore the town.  Back up the main street we go and call in to the North Gregory Hotel.

North Gregory Hotel

Waltzing Matilda was performed for the first time here in 1895.  Well to be absolutely correct it was performed in the original North Gregory Hotel that was destroyed by fire.  The new hotel does have some priceless Daphne Mayo glass etchings of Waltzing Matilda and Qantas on the dining room doors.

Daphne Mayo etchings circa 1959

Quite a few famous people have stayed at the North Gregory Hotel including Lyndon B. Johnson - before he became President of the USA.  In failing light and not able to find Cloncurry airstrip, the pilot of the plane transporting him to Darwin in 1943 made an emergency landing at Carisbrooke Homestead near Winton.  Lyndon B. Johnson and the crew stayed the night in the hotel before continuing on to Cloncurry the next day.  Behind the hotel is a rather strange wall built by Arno Grotjahn.  The wall is two metres high and extends for over seventy metres.  It is constructed from concrete and rock brought in from Arno’s opal mine at Opalton and features a range of industrial and household items.

Arno's Wall

There are motor bikes, televisions, microwaves, lawnmowers, typewriters, anything and everything imaginable – even the kitchen sink.

You name it - it's somewhere in the wall!

On the outskirts of town is a kid’s delight – The Musical Fence.

The Musical Fence

It is a wire fence that can be played as a musical instrument using the right technique with a couple of pieces of pipe.  We did manage to get a couple of different notes out of it but a complete tune eluded us.  There were however some other objects for us to play with

Robyn tries her hand at hub cap percussion

and if you are a frustrated percussionist then this is just the place for you.  You can bang away for free and no-one will tell you to shut up.  The next morning we walked down to the Royal Open Air Theatre.  Built in 1918, burnt down and rebuilt in 1938, the theatre is a working museum and still shows nostalgia movies on a Wednesday night.

Royal Open Air Theatre

The theatre also boasts having the largest canvas deck chair in existence

Wok's deck chair doesn't quite compare to the one four chairs away

and who are we to say whether that is true or not.  Who is actually going to climb up  and sit in it is a whole other matter!  A couple of doors down from the theatre is the Corfield & Fitzmaurice Building.

Corfield & Fitzmaurice Building

The building is 130 years old and heritage listed.  For over one hundred years it operated as a general store and today houses a craft shop and a museum area.  We knew that we would eventually find some dinosaurs and here in the back of the store is a life size diorama of the dinosaur stampede at Lark Quarry.

Run for your lives ....

Now that’s more like it!  Now all we have to do is find the real thing out there somewhere ……