Winton

Similar to Longreach, Winton has been a town we only stopped at for meal breaks or fuel stops. This trip was to be different, we stayed over for three nights. Winton proudly hosts "The Waltzing Matilda Museum". This centre commemorates the first public performance of the song, 'Waltzing Matilda', that was to be embraced by the population of Australia at large, as depicting the soul of the country, the outback in particular.


Bladenburg National Park is only 17 km from town, so we took a drive out one afternoon to check it out. Bladenburg NP would normally be inaccessible by car after rain but we were OK as there had been several warm days to dry the tracks out. Even so, we had to drive through several water holes and a wet creek crossing, no real problems or dangers though. For more information http://queenslandholidays.com.au/things-to-see-and-do/bladensburg-national-park/index.cfm


While in town one afternoon, taking some photos, we called into the North Gregory Hotel for a couple of cooling ales. Here we met Thelma, the licensee and a couple of locals. We stayed longer than intended and learnt some local knowledge of the town.


When we were camped at Tinnaburra, in the Atherton Tablelands, we met Brett Gillespie, he was having a short break away from Winton. The busy Winton Spar Supermarket is owned by the Gillespie family so we called in to see Brett while we were in town.


We met a family, at the Winton CP, who had left Townsville in June 2010 for a two year trip around Australia. I don't know how they'll go, as they've only reached Winton in five months, maybe they'll take longer than planned to achieve their aim. If you are interested you can follow their experiences at http://www.expeditionaustralia.com.au/cruisindownunder/

We had just finished setting up our camp site when this dragon came along to check us out. They have discovered that it is easier to walk on their two hind legs.

Didn't like the look of us much, so climbed a nearby tree.

Jude on the drum set at the Musical Fence.

Noel having a bash at the Hub Caps.

Noel knocking out a tune (?) on the Musical Fence.

An overview of the Musical Fence.

Under the windmill at The Waltzing Matilda Museum.

The entrance to The Waltzing Matilda Museum.

This is the wagon that carried the last load transported by a horse drawn wagon.

The National Heritage listed general store is now a museum.

The imposing building of The North Gregory Hotel. The beer is good too.

When it was first settled, Winton was known as Pelican Waterhole because there was a natural waterhole and I guess pelicans were known to visit.

Behind The North Gregory Hotel is the oddity known as Arno's Fence. The concrete fence is about 70 metres in length and has a vast array of objects imbedded into it.

Including a kitchen range.

Several motorbikes.

A concrete mixer.

The side gate is covered in hubcaps.

Air compressor here too.

The track into Bladensburg NP. It is OK now that the mud has dried out.

The natural feature that we drove up to.

Remaining water from the last downpour. The run-off flows from this direction to the Skull Hole.

The run-off then flows over this flat rocky area towards the Skull Hole.

The run-off then takes a 9 metre drop down to this water hole. This is the view to the right of the waterhole.

This is the view to the left side of the waterhole and where the run-off escapes downstream.

This is an adjacent waterhole, right side view again. The run-off escapes at the rear of this photo.

Left side of the same waterhole.