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.

AUC 1995 - Winton (Qld)

Winton (Qld)
Landsborough Highway 172kms

A great pack up and an early start on the road. If it hadn't been for the necessity to stock the financial
stores, we could have been away even earlier, but the 8:50 am departure time from Longreach was quite satisfactory.

The drive was endlessly plain, as the terrain didn't vary much from dead flat, low scrub and boredom. Cheering broke out when we caught our first glimpses of the Forsyth and then later, the Tully, Ranges. The only thing about the drive which could draw comment, was the quantity of road kills we observed. It was rare to see only one every 100 metres. Given the distance travelled in reaching Winton, that is a serious dent on the native animal population !

Winton is, at first glance, a quite unremarkable little town. That is, until you move through the main street or stop and talk with a resident. To do so, is to scratch the surface on what would appear to be a well-spring of pride. My 1993 figures tell me 1281 residents can be found in Winton and it soon became obvious all would be happy to remind us this was "the real birthplace of Waltzing Matilda, mate, eh !" As definite as they were, one couldn't complain they were aggressive or even assertive: just very definitely proud of their place in the history of the development of the Australian ethos.

Our first stop was the caravan park. We had intended dropping the trailer and heading to Lark Quarry, where archaeological evidence abounds as to the movement and type of dinosaurs which existed in Terra Australus. However, the heat, which seemed to be increasing with every day we headed further north and inland and the prospect of 200 kms of dirt road and the advice of the friendly proprietor, put paid to the idea.

Sarah

Instead, it was off to Qantilda Place : the combined museum and information centre. We had heard much about its value as a museum and this proved very true. The variety of historical pieces on display was massive and there was ample opportunity for us to browse and enjoy what was on offer. For once, we didn'tfeel rushed to be somewhere else and as a result, enjoyed perusing the collections.
These included a bottle collection said to number into the 4000 range. None of us had ever seen such an amazing number of bottles in one place and some of them defied the imagination. There were intricate cars and people, guns, animals and even a toilet, all made from glass and all bottles of some type. A gun display graced another wall and some of the makes included Enfield's and Winchesters.
An iron lung donated by the hospital was on display - although this model appeared to be a wooden lung ! Medical equipment, which had once tortured the body, now tortured the mind, in imagining how the patients survived the treatment. A full size steam engine - complete with tracks - was in the yard, as well as old farm vehicles and equipment. Books of locally kept history, letters, telegrams etc were all available for anyone with the time, patience and interest to look.

From here, we walked the short distance which makes up the main street and observed the facades of the shops and two of the other features behind them. Through the chemist shop and ultimately behind the cafe, we found one of the few remaining open air theatres still operating. A sloped cement floor and galvanised tin walls encase the canvas "deck chairs" which are the seating for patrons. Some atmospheric dummies have been placed about the place, but it is essentially unchanged since 1938. The theatre had existed before that (1918) but was burnt down in the same fire which destroyed the North Gregory Hotel - for the third time - in 1938. The film caught alight and quickly spread, destroying much of the business district with it. Rebuilt in the same location, the theatre is still in the hands of the same family. The new owner, following the re-opening in 1938, passed the mantle to his son in 1960 and the son still does the honours on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. Fifty seven years of movie memories provided by one family.

The other highlight of this walking tour was the thrice pyrotechnically challenged North Gregory Hotel. Now a brick structure of some substance, it is the fourth hotel of the same name which has stood at this spot since the day in 1895 when Banjo Paterson first performed "Waltzing Matilda" in public. It's reputation as the place where patrons first heard the pathos-ridden tale of the swagman and his fatal brush with authority, is only flawed by a the tourist driven need to be "the first" or "the only". In this instance, the claim to fame is akin to the farmer discussing the family history of his axe:
"Yes mate. That axe has been in my family since the pioneer days. Of course, I had to change the
handle last year and Dad replaced the head that time after he struck the big rock by the wood block
and Grandad put a handle on it after the big bush fire in '43 and ..."

One sculpture caught our eye. Located on the grass centre section of the main street. It was a series of six short columns, each one featuring four or so lines from "Waltzing Matilda", on a plaque adorning the top of the column. Emanating from the body of each column, were brass sculptures of body parts or relevant items which matched the lines from the poem. Hence, "Up rode the squatter ..." is accompanied by the foreleg of a horse. Very effective art.

Home for campsite relaxing and then some tucker, before returning to the theatre for a night under and in front of the stars. The atmosphere was excellent and the picture was not bad either. Jaffas and Fantales were bought and consumed and we all had a fabulous time. Gog and Pa, meanwhile, opted to stay at camp and enjoy the culinary delights of a campfire and bush tucker provided by Gloria - an ex roo shooter, who now deals in the sale of skins, presumably animal. She was as tough as nails and the current arm wrestling champion of Winton. In past years, she had owned a pub and no doubt entertained patrons with the same gravel voice and colourful outback language. The food was reportedly good, despite the smoke chasing them, and the ambiance established by the hostess led to a cheerful night around the fire.

For us, after the thrill of the moving pictures ... home ...journal ...full moon ... contentment... bed.