Queensland Outback Tour - Old Planes & An Old Hotel

Our last day in Charleville was by far our best.

This morning we took ourselves out to the airport and grabbed an advantaged position to watch the landing of the twenty five planes taking part in the Royal Flying Doctor Service Pilgrimage - a flying tribute to make the 90th anniversary of the RFDS. The group are flying from Dubbo in the NSW Central West and had already visited Moree and Roma before Charleville. They will visit several other towns in Qld which have been important landmarks for the RFDS, before finishing the journey in Mount Isa.

There were some serious old birds among the group, including three Gypsy Moths. In they all came, one after the other and out stepped a variety of ... well it would be wrong to call them pilots, as their commitment is better rewarded with the term enthusiast. The surprising thing was the shortage of people who turned out to see the event. It has been poorly advertised, with the local paper saying they would cover the event after it had happened so they would have photos!

Sue, who knows little about planes, was enthralled and even though I don't know as much as either my brother or father, I have always loved aircraft, having at one stage wanted to be a fighter pilot in the same way most boys want to be firemen.

We went into town to The Black Sheep Cafe and had lunch, a delicious stew made on the premises. The cook even came to our table to check we had enjoyed it! Unbelievable hospitality in this town.

Amy Johnson's famous bathtub

Our afternoon was filled with a fascinating tour of the Hotel Corones and more stories about the man behind the place, Harry Corones. He started out as an owner of a cafe in Charleville - who would have thought, a Greek cafe owner - and moved into the Charleville Hotel as it licensee a few years later but it burnt down in the same year. It was rebuilt in brick to prevent fire and Corones signed a new lease. Soon after he built Charleville's first cinema and in subsequent years was one of the first shareholders in QANTAS.

In 1924, he started building Hotel Corones and from the start it was to be in grade style. Fully tiled walls and floor and the biggest bar top in Qld. Four ornate pillars were a feature of the bar and stained glass windows. Accommodation was added upstairs and a very fancy dining room. To this he added a dance hall beside the hotel which was the venue for all of Charleville's most important weddings.

Many famous guests have stayed at the Hotel Corones, including Gough Whitlam, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester (well one of those Royals), Brian Brown and many famous aviators. In 1930, the famous English aviatrix Amy Johnson, landed in Charleville as part a solo flight from England to Australia and of course, Harry Corones with his love of aviation, insisted she stay at his hotel. She ordered a bath be drawn but filled with champagne. 23 bottles did the job but Harry, always on the lookout for making an earned pound make another, had the bath drained back into the bottles and sold them as mementos!

A small landing from her room and one other beside it provided a secret access to the back of the hotel, where the famous could whisk consorts up a steep but unseen staircase and into their room.

Click to see today's photos

It was an excellent tour which was as much about the legendary Harry Corones as it was about his hotel.

Our evening ended with a campfire stew provided by the owners of our caravan park, the Bailey Bar and chats with fellow travellers.