Last Cab(pervan) to Darwin Part 2

Sorry if this all sounds like a bit of a history lesson but I am fascinated with the unusual and sometimes obscure things that happen in the middle of nowhere – or more pertinently away from the cities. For example we are now in Barcaldine, (Bar-call-din and named after a Scottish castle in Ayrshire) some 550kms east of the coast in Central West Queensland. This grazing town of around 1,500 people has an interesting history including being the traditional home to the Iningai people. Their quiet nomadic life was slightly interrupted when firstly Burke and Wills came by in 1861 on their transcontinental trek north to south then turned upside down when Scotsman David Charles Cameron arrived in 1863. Cameron had been a slave trader in British Guyana and set up Barcaldine Downs as a sheep station. Sheep and cattle farming are still the major industries today. Cameron, true to form barred the local Indigenous people from these lands and instead employed blackbirded South Sea islanders as farm labour. Another sad chapter in this country’s history.

Ironically it is the labour movement that Barcaldine is most famous for. The town is the site of the beginning of the Australian Labour party when in May 1891 it became the centre of the Australian shearers strike. The shearers met under the landmark Tree of Knowledge outside the town’s railway station and the labour movement was born. In fact one of the first May Day marches in the world happened on 1st May 1891 in Barcaldine. Unfortunately in 2006 someone ( a Liberal supporter?) poisoned and killed the tree with Roundup and it is now a mere ghost of itself. Unlike the Australian Labour party which after taking a few near mortal blows a decade or so ago is now thriving.

Under the Tree of Knowledge. As my daughter Tammy wisely said “Dad, you are the Tree of Knowledge”

Longreach main street

Never mind all this. After a leisurely drive north through the very pleasant outback towns of Augathella, Tambo and Blackall we were now camped at the Barcaldine showgrounds with loads of room and free access to toilets and showers. By the way, Blackall is supposed to be the original location of the “Black Stump” with everything west of there said to be “beyond the Black Stump”. Our visit suggested this could be quite true.

The Blue Heeler Hotel

Back to the Labour Government. After saying they wouldn’t during the election campaign in 2022 the ALP Govt. is planning to take the axe to dividend imputation and other super annuitant tax relief. Oh woe is us! Our spirits were lifted though when we reached our next stop at Kyuna or more precisely the Blue Heeler Pub and Jolly Swagvan (get it?) campground. We had stopped for a brief visit at Longreach to consult an Auto Glass repair expert. Not two days into our journey along with the insects and moths that constantly bombard the windscreen a sizable pebble whacked the passenger side followed by a widening near 50cm crack across the passenger’s vision. The highways are good but only two lane so the road trains and locals speeding to town throw up a mixture of rocks and other debris. It is a lucky traveler who doesn’t have at least two or three stone chips in their windscreen. The autoglass expert (as opposed to Scout) explained the makeup of a windscreen, advised us not to worry and fix the whole thing when we got home.

The Blue Heeler Pub is a convenient stop for both travelers and truckies. Kyuna has precisely seven houses, one roadhouse, one police station (we couldn’t work out why either) and one pub. There is a small campground and a large gravel parking area beside the hotel which was full that night with campers and truckies overnighting. Everyone enjoyed the drinks and atmosphere if not the chicken schnitzel and chips which, in my view, came straight from the freezer at Woolworths. Nonetheless (neanmoins) a good night had by all. Tomorrow though is time to continue west. We need to be in Darwin by Saturday.

Images – Clockwise from top. Road train in for the night at the Blue Heeler. Camped at the Jolly Swagvan Park. One cracked windscreen. Getting some fresh air at the Jolly Swagvan. The Walkabout Creek Hotel, McKinlay where they filmed Crocodile Dundee. Self explanatory!