Qld Outback Tour - Waltzing Matilda - Winton

Longreach - Winton, 180kms, 9.8L/100km

Moving day today, heading north west up the Landsborough Highway to the place which claim Waltzing Matilda.

We had the strange situation of being parking in an almost entire row of AVAN campers last night, after two nights of being the only one there. Five of us in all, with one new and one very dated Jayco camper squeezed in among us.

Beautiful bright, clear day and an almost uneventful drive. Sam can't be said for the poor buggers we came upon about halfway to Winton. We knew about it well before we got there from the radio chatter but a very large van had gone over onto its side and was completely blocking the roadway and a fair proportion of the road verge as well. Remarkably, he attached vehicle was still attached and on all four tyres and seem undamaged. The wild skid marks indicated they had lost control for some reason as they approached a small bridge. Once those big rigs start to sway they have a mind of their own. An ambulance was in attendance but indications were shock was the major problem. The truckies were marvelous, warning traffic in both directions and two army personnel who had been in a low loader carrying army vehicles had organised a bypass for traffic and were directing it.

It was a reminder of how fragile our existence is out on these opposing lanes of asphalt, some of us at 110km/h.

The Waltzing Matilda Centre

We arrived at Winton for an early lunch and the decamped on foot to the Waltzing Matilda Centre, a modern exhibition space which has only just opened in the last month after the original burnt down in 2015. It included a main gallery which uses state of the art technology to tell the story of the land where Walting Matilda originated and of course, the history of the song. Also included in the Centre are an art space and a cafe and it opens out onto the original Qantilda Museum, or what remains of it. Our children will remember it as the tractors, trains and glass bottles section.

Staffed by informed and friendly people, this is a first class museum.

For the evening, we went to the North Gregory Hotel and dined in the infamous dining room where Daphne Mayo, who came to Winton after falling out with her lover, Lloyd Rees. They are quite exquisite. The chairs are mid century modern, with the backs like the one Christine Keeler was famously photographed in.

The "spot" where Waltzing Matilda
was first performed publicly

Banjo's words were sung here for the first time ... or so the mythology goes. I tried to ignore the fact that the first hotel in which the event was supposed to take place was demolished and that two subsequent successors burnt down - as is the trend in outback Qld - or that this current hotel was built in 1955 to a completely new design. However, you don't ruin a good story with the facts. The dining room doors are decorated with etched glass by

The foyer is similarly decorated with light fittings and staircases which make the very strong statements of post WWII optimism typical of the time.

Click to see today's photos

After dinner, we walked over to the Tatts Hotel so Sue could listen to an old dear playing saxophone to midi tapes - you all know ow much I love that - and so I could enjoy a Guinness on tap.

We'll be returning to Winton later in the trip but for now, we move on tomorrow to McKinlay ad Hawaiian Night at the Walkabout Creek Hotel.