First stop this morning was Cloncurry to refuel and have a cuppa, then through Mackinlay to Kynuna where we stopped to have a look at the Blue Heeler Pub. All these places are on the old drovers and Cobb and Co coach route and are popularly known as the Matilda Country. The stations in these parts run sheep as well as cattle and in the past the merino sheep raised for wool were a mainstay of the Queensland economy.
Kynuna claims that Banjo Patterson's song 'Waltzing Matilda' was first performed in the Blue Heeler Pub and that the ill fated swagman had his last drink there. The North Gregory hotel in Winton also claims to be the pub where the song was first performed and in reality the swagman did not really exist, he was a pastiche of characters.
 |
| Blue Heeler hotel, Kynuna QLD |
 |
| Our rig in the roomy carpark at Blue Heeler Hotel QLD |
We arrived in Winton late afternoon and it represents more than anything else I have seen, the 'outback' town of popular myth and certainly the version I had envisioned. Unfortunately our first experience of the town was not good. The caravan site we had booked gave us a rubbish site - it was so muddy John had to put the car into 4 wheel drive to back the caravan in! Then we had to take the power cord to a point in the ceiling of a nearby building as there was none on site. Along with a few other things this convinced us that the 'Matilda Country Tourist Park' was not for us so we got our money back and moved to another park in the town, which although basic is adequate.
 |
| North Gregory Hotel, Winton QLD |
After all this we went for a meal at the North Gregory Hotel which has been rebuilt no less than 4 times on the same site [due to fires], the last rebuilding was in 1946. Here John had a BBQ for $11 which must be the best value in Australia.
No comments:
Post a Comment