Day 7 - 12/07/2013 - Longreach - Barcaldine

Big day today, visiting 2 big museums, which will take most of the day, then we move 100km east back to Barcaldine.

First cab off the rank was the Qantas Founders Museum, Qantas was started in Cloncurry close to Longreach, then moved to Longreach.

Bit of trivia, Qantas stands Queensland and NT Air Services, so there.

We were at the front door before opening at 9am, as we anticipated spending a few hours here. We decided against the guided tour that visits the first Boeing 707 that Qantas purchased and one of he first Boeing 747, as this tour alone would take 90mins.

From the outside this is quite an impressive building.

There are a few planes on display outside, as well as lots of exhibits in the museum itself, then there is the original Qantas hangar with various workshops as well as more old planes used by Qantas.

Couldn't help but think of my late father, who would have loved to visit here, probably would have spent more time here than we did.

Outside there are the aformentioned 707 and 747 as well as a Douglas DC3.

That's enough of the Qantas Founders Museum, when we come back home I will put up a web album with most of the 200 odd photos I took there!

Next is the Stockmans Hall of Fame.

Basically a museum devoted to life in the outback through history. It was started by R.M. Williams, who also started the R.M. Williams Company.

We spent a pleasant and interesting few hours here and learned a lot about the exploration and settlement of Outback Australia as well as getting some idea of the harsh conditions people endured in the mid 1800s until after WWII really.

Watched a whipmaker in action, incredible the variety of whips and patterns these guys can create.

Everything had to be transported by bullock wagons, including everything needed for the gold fields.

Housing was a bit more primitive than today, this example probably more luxurious than some of the wattle and daub huts, or ramshackle tents.

An example of an old wool press from the days when Australia rode on the sheeps' back. In those days the stations in western Queensland ran about 80-90% sheep and 10-20% cattle. Now it is is the other way around and the stations cannot afford workers anymore as they have all moved to the mines. When they need anything done they have to bring in contractors.

There was quite an interesting display and video presentation about Sir Sidney Kidman, the pastoralist after whom the Kidman Way was named, the road we followed up here.
The Kidman Pastoral Company he founded is still the biggest pastoral company in Australia.

I could show many more photos, but want to keep these posts short(ish). I will however put up another web album of photos taken here once we return home.

Returning to Barcaldine we stopped at the roadside display of old plant and machinery in Ilfracombe. This display stretches for what seems at least a kilometre and is part of the local museum (which we didn't go in to as by this time we were "museumed" out!). But I did take some photos of some of the old machinery.

On returning to Barcaldine we checked in to a caravan park and were told that the Tree of Knowledge I had photographed before during daylight hours was illuminated at night. So after dinner headed out there and took some night shots of it.