On the road about we headed west to Longreach. It was not too far and would take about four or so hours. It was a crisp, sunny morning and the travelling was easy, with not too many cars on the road.We made good time, with the scenery unchanging and we saw very few animals, apart from birds feasting on road kill. Our first anticipated destination was Barcaldine. This contains the famous Tree of Knowledge, where in 1891, during the Shearers Strike, the Labor Party had its beginnings. It was over 100 years old when in 2006 it was poisoned. Now a replica stands in its place. It was easy to find, on the main street into town, outside the Railway Station. We examined the plaques etc. and then went across the road to the local Bakery and had some lunch there. We then went to the Australian Workers Heritage Centre. Here there are a collection of building,s each celebrating some aspect of workers and unions.The first exhibit was about the Queensland Police Force and had a replica old and other memorabilia of policing. There was a huge tent as the central feature; this was the Bicentennial tent which toured
the country during the bicentennial year. Not much inside; the tent itself was the exhibit. Then there was a hut dedicated to the 1891 Shearers Strike which was what led to the formation of the Australian Labor Party. Queensland was the first parliament in the world to have a socialist government in 1899. In the centre of was The Youngn, a cutting taken from the original Tree of Knowledge before it was poisoned.Other buildings were dedicated to the AWU and there was a one teacher schoolroom. We hurried though the last few rooms as we were keen to get on.
We arrived in Longreach about 4pm. We drove into the main street and went for a walk. The Station store was a which had goods of all kinds but also various Coaches and other memorabilia out the back of the place. There was a myriad of souvenirs available and we browsed the array. We walked along the street and stopped for a beer at one of the pubs. We then went to our lodgings at the Saltbush Retreat. This was a cabin with two rooms and I booked in to Harrys
restaurant for dinner which was as the best restaurant in Longreach. We settled in and then went to the restaurant about 7pm. This was upstairs in one of the but was a large establishment with pleasant dcor. We were quite impressed with the menu and wine list.
I decided to have two entrees while Fletcher went for one entre and a main course.I started with scallops while Fletcher had the crocodile spring rolls. Both were excellent and I pinched one of his rolls. For mains, Fletcher ordered spatchcock while I had the kangaroo skewers. My scallops had been but when my kangaroo also came out nearly cold, and I did get a warmed up version. Fletcher said his was OK and my kangaroo was delicious once it had been reheated. For dessert we shared a berry pudding macaroon which was rich and very yummy..We returned to the cabin and had a nightcap.
Tuesday was to be our busiest day so far. We had made some bookings on our way here so had the day mapped out. We started at The Stockmans Hall of Fame at This is a large building with
a huge statue of a stockman at the front. We were given an ipod and headphones which was our audio tour. We started on the ground floor and the audio was excellent, giving clear introductions to each section as well as various stories to choose. We walked through an art studio, used by our narrator and then into the main hall. There was a replica pioneers hut with washing out the front and rough furnishings inside. Through there, exhibitions about droving and the wool trade throughout NSW and Queensland, told the story of the pioneers of the Outback. Upstairs was an exhibit about the Royal Flying Doctor Service, including a plane suspended from the ceiling. Other areas included a Poets Corner, a Pub with no Beer and information about Jim Sharmans travelling boxing troupe.
