ATHERTON TABELANDS

22^nd June, 2013

There are lots of neat places to visit around Atherton and half an hour’s drive away is Herberton – the oldest town on the Tablelands.  In the late 1800’s tin was discovered at Herberton and a mining boom followed.  Today the town is listed on the National Heritage Register and many of the original buildings still survive along the main street.  The Mining Museum occupies the site of the first big tin discovery at the Great Northern Mine and tells the story of the town’s mining history.  In the main street the old store built in 1882 now houses a Spy Camera Museum – an unusual and fascinating look into the history of photography.  Over thirty years ago we visited Herberton with the kids and stopped to take a look at the Herberton Historic Village.  This village had only been operating for a few years and had about six vintage buildings that were jam packed with stuff.  At that time we thought it was one of the best historic villages we had seen and were interested in seeing if it was still as good as we remembered.  There had definitely been some improvements over the years and the number of buildings had grown to over fifty.  Just as well we had plenty of time as it was going to take the better part of the day to explore the site.  The buildings date back to the 1800’s and have been relocated to the village from all over the Tablelands.  Wok spots the Ettamogah Pub

Ettamogah Pub

and makes a beeline for the extra high bar. 

Wok just wishes the bar was open

The hotel used to be single storey but when it was moved to the village an extra storey was added and the building was made to resemble the pub from the Ettamogah cartoon.  It is filled with antiques and memorabilia.  Wok finally managed to drag himself out of the pub and we paid a visit to the school.  This building was the original Herberton State School built in 1883 and was one of the buildings we saw thirty years ago and we had a lot of fun showing Tina and Trent some of the things we used at school as well as what our parents and grandparents used.  This time we had just as much fun and Wok thinks he even managed to get a maths question right – albeit in pounds, shillings and pence.

Wok relives his school days

One of the newer additions to the village was an old service station.

Vintage Service Station

There were lots of old signs and bowsers and inside the garage was full of vintage cars and motorbikes.  At the rear of the garage two rows of vehicles were on display.

Wok wanders through the vintage cars

These vehicles had yet to be restored to their former glory but Wok enjoyed wandering amongst them.  There were lots of buildings – butcher, chemist, grocer, frock salon, toy shop, newsagent, music shop, telephone exchange, jeweller, miner’s hut, farmhouse, farriers, etc. etc. etc.  All were crammed full of memorabilia and by lunchtime we were only halfway around the site.  After a quick bite to eat in the tea rooms we continued our journey back in time and Wok really liked this shed which was filled with big boy’s toys.

Old time Men's Shed

By mid afternoon we had managed to see through all the buildings.  The village has outgrown its present site but a suspension bridge had just been built across the Wild River which bordered it and plans were underway to expand the village into the ten acres it owned on the other side of the river.  Walking trails were already established and a pioneer camp was being constructed.  The village has gone from a small collection of historical buildings to a treasure trove of Australian history.  Well done!

A few days later we visited the Crystal Caves in Atherton.  This privately owned mineralogical collection has over 600 specimens made up of rare crystals, gemstones and fossils.  To see the man made caves we have to don miner’s helmets and watch out for low ceilings as we wander through the tunnels.

In the tunnels of the Crystal Caves

There are lots of nooks and crannies where fascinating rock specimens hide.

Malachite

The star attraction would have to be The Empress of Uruguay

Wok admires the Empress of Uruguay

This is the world’s largest amethyst geode and is 3.5 metres tall and weighs 2.5 tonnes.  Very impressive!

Every bit as imposing is the Crystal Fountain.

The Crystal Fountain

The fountain is made of Rose Quartz which is known as the Stone of Love.  With over four tonnes of this pretty stone making up the fountain it has a lot of love to go around.  Of course along with rock specimens there are always fossils and there is an intriguing collection of these as well.  At the end of our tour through the caves we browse through the gift shop which is well worth a visit in its own right.  Along with the huge range of crystallised mineral specimens for sale are geodes and jewellery.  Next door to the Crystal Caves is the Sahara Seabed Collection – fossils that date back more than 240 million years and are ancestors of the Nautilus shell.  It’s fascinating to see how these ancient fossils have been incorporated into bench tops for tables, bathrooms and kitchens.

Our campground is not far from Lake Tinaroo which was formed in the late 1950’s to serve the growing need for water.  We have visited the dam before but this time we decide to circumnavigate the lake and take a look at all the picnic and camping spots.  The road around the lake is only sealed for part of the way so Mitzi has to get her tyres dirty again.  In the early 1900’s people were encouraged to take up undeveloped parcels of land in country areas.  The land was logged, livestock was introduced and crops were grown.  It was back breaking work and many first time settlers gave up.  Others took their place and eventually the farms became viable.  At a picnic area all that remains of one of these homesteads are the double-sided chimneys.

The Chimneys

We continue around the lake and spot a couple of birds near some trees.  They are quite a big bird standing around 50 centimetres tall and have grey and white plumage.

A curlew ??

We think they are ‘curlews’ but as we have only ever heard the call of this bird during the night we are not sure.  If anyone can positively identify them then let us know.  After a couple of hours of popping in and out of all the coves and peninsulas we finally come to the dam wall.

Dam wall at Lake Tinaroo

The lake is very popular with fishermen and is well stocked with barramundi, red claw, perch and cod.  Sailing and water skiing are also popular pastimes.  There are lots of nice spots around the lake to just relax and enjoy the scenery and that is exactly what we did.  Ahhh …. the serenity!

Lake Tinaroo