Needmor

After Coppabella, we decided to have a detour and head back home to have the generator and bus checked since we need to address these issues before we travel further. The day before we are to take off for Gracemere, the editor said we are gonna visit a long lost friend of his in Dingo. Cliff, the editor's good friend is a cattle grazier who owns a few vast properties in Dingo. We headed to his home property called Needmor.

Staying at Needmor was truly unforgetable for me and being able to stay there for 5 days and experience real outback life was unbelievable. The Mylrea family are all very nice and hospitable and according to the Editor they are a typical Australian country family. Country families are very close and are always very welcoming of visitors. I suddenly miss home and my family.

It also very obvious that there is an obvious difference between country people and city people. The is also a difference between people from the southern states of Australia when compared to Queenlanders

During our stay the Editor was able to help Cliff with some of the jobs that he needed to get done. There was mustering, they put a "nappy" on a very cranky bull which had a condition which is called "Prolapsed". Proplased means that the bulls penis has gotten infected and very swollen. This can be caused by a few different things, he might have picked up a grass seed that has gotten up inside the sheath around the penis and become infected. Better him than the Editor!!

Cliff and the Editor also concreted some steel posts in the ground for Cliff's new hay shed. The cement mixer did not make it through the project so the boys had to mix the last of the concrete by hand in the wheelbarrow. They also started to weld up the trusses (trusses hold up the roof) for the shed as well, but they ran out of steel. They fixed an electric fence. We went shooting, well sort of, we shot at a piece of tin wedged into a tree so that was also another new experience for me. I got to pat a new bull. He ate some feed from my hand. This was good until he licked my hand with his rough tongue, he scared the crap out of me!!!

I got to experience some typical aussie country cooking as well, home made biscuits and cakes. The editor told Cliff's mum (Barb) that he reckons that she made the best curried sausages. I think this made Barb feel either guilty or proud as we had curried sausages the next night for dinner. The other thing I noticed is that country people, well the Mylreas at least eat breakfast, morning tea (smoko) , lunch, after noon tea (smoko) as well as a big feed at night time including deserts. But I suppose this makes sense as life on the land is hard work all day everyday.

Below are some of the photos during our stay at Cliff's property.

We had a good spot to park the bus.



Isn't this a lovely bull?

 

Except for his dick which is infected thats why its protruding and swollen.



Lesson 101 - Putting nappies on a bull.

It wasn't an easy job.

But they did it.



A pretty mare with her foal.

More horses.

 

The farmer getting ready to head out in the paddock.



Cliff's son Eddie and another friend of the Mylrea's

  



some wild kangaroos





A day of mustering.








Lesson 102 - Fixing a cement mixer.





 

Little Eddie burying the dog in cottonseed.

 





The Mylrea family.



This week has certainly been one of the best weeks I had had so far. I can only hope that this is a sign of more good times yet to come as we tour around this very large country. Thanks to the Mylreas for a very memorable experience.

Mining Trail Part 2

Moranbah

The next day we headed for Moranbah. This town is located in the northern part of the Isaac Regional Shire, Moranbah is approximately 132 km northeast of Clermont. We dropped by the town to refill the gas bottle and visit a laundromat. Moranbah is a modern town which services the surrounding coal mining industry and associated support industries. Although Moranbah is modern in most aspects, it also has the charm and warmth of a rural community. The Gregory Highway passes through Moranbah on its way to Charters Towers and onto Townsville. Moranbah and Clermont have airstrips utilised by private and charter aircraft. Our true destination was Coppabella so we did not stay long in Moranbah and continued driving. Near our destination an exciting thing happened - we had a flat tyre!!! Well here's a first time for everything (after almost 2 weeks on the road).

a busy mine on the background

Coppabella

this tribute to the mining industry welcomes you to this small but busy town

The town of Coppabella is a small community which lies approximately 159 kilometres south-west of Mackay. Recognised for its large mining monument at the entrance of the town, Coppabella was designed to service the junction of two railway lines, one from Goonyella Mine and the other from Saraji Mine. The railway line would then continue on to the sea at Hay Point, Sarina. The Goonyella to Hay Point line was opened on the 5 November 1971 and the Coppabella Railway Station was opened on the same day.

The town is wholly owned and operated by Queensland Rail and contains: stations, residences, single person quarters, work depots, hotel, shop, swimming pool, basketball court, tennis court, football oval, caravan park, school, ambulance, fire brigade and water supply! Interestingly, the name Coppabella was given by Queensland Railways at the suggestion of the General Manager, Central Division. It is said to be an Aboriginal word meaning “crossing place”.

We stayed here for 6 days while the Editor had to complete 23 site measures and drawings for work in both Coppabella and Moranbah, during this time I was able to post 2 blogs and get caught up on the laundry. In true country hospitality we were invited to a birthday party at the local watering hole at which I met a couple of filipinos and they were very nice. We were told that the Coppabella population of about 600 includes about 15 filipinos.

Mining Trail Part 1

  

From Barcaldine, we headed back to Emerald to camp overnight and shop for some supplies. We camped in a rest area under the bridge right beside the river. This is a popular rest area / camp site because it is within easy reach of the highway and just walking distance from shops. Camping is free but there is no power or shower. Just as well we were not camped here during the flooding earlier this year as we would have been under about 10 or 12 metres of water!!! The damage caused by the flooding was very evident as we drove around the thriving mining towns.

Highway bridge on the left. Train on the right.

Clermont



Clermont's very old Commercial Hotel

 First stop on this route was Clermont. 110 kms from Emerald, Clermont was famous during the gold rush period. The discovery of gold in 1861 was responsible for the establishment of the town. In 1916 Clermont was devastated by floods and the town was relocated to a higher site nearby. Today, visitors can still see the remains of the original town site.

  

The Piano in the Tree, in Capricorn Street is a quirky reminder of the height of the floodwaters. The Clermont Museum has historical artefacts and is home to many machinery displays, it's located off the Peak Downs Highway just outside Clermont.  

These is our spot - meters away from the lake.



We tried to camp at the town's showground but Theresa Creek Dam was highly recomended by one of the locals. The dam was constructed in 1983 by the Blair Athol Coal Project. Blair Athol is one of the many coal mines around the town. We drove 22 km southwest of Clermont to the site and as we got to the top of the hill, we were surprised to see how many campers were there. Surprisingly we thought "Camp" has all the sites listed but how come they did not include this one. The site is amazingly beautiful! I should say the site is one of my favorites so far. Initially we thought there won't be any room for us but the site is huge and I would say the biggest camp we have stayed at so far. It has all the facilities except for power. Camping is $10 per night.



Theresa Creek Dam - camping is $10 per night.

  

campers along the dam's bank

Queensland Outback Part 4

 

Barcaldine - home to Australian Workers Heritage Centre

Once in town, look for the windmill for the
town's information center.

From Longreach heading east this time , we dropped by Barcaldine for a morning tour. It was surprisingly chilly that morning (like winter made a u-turn) but i needed to have a look at the Tree of Knowledge so i tried to ignore the chill. I saw it 2 days ago and I was curious as to what the structure was all about and certainly it does not look like a tree. Well that's because the structure actually houses the tree - the dead tree that is. The original tree was poisoned in 2006 but you can still see it under the cube structure.








The Tree of Knowledge



"The site of the 150-year-old, 10-metre Ghost Gum tree located in the centre of Barcaldine in Central West Queensland is a symbol of an important time in Australia's political development. It was used as the meeting place for shearers during their unsuccessful strike of 1891. During that strike, as well as the maritime strike of 1890, a crucial and historical connection was forged between unions and what was to become the Australian Labor Party. In April 2006 the Tree of Knowledge was poisoned and did not recover." 

the tree before it was poisoned

the preserved dead tree




  







Barcaldine is situated at the junction of the Capricorn and Matilda (Landsborough) Highways. It is use as a base from which to explore the Central West of Queensland. The extensive range of accommodation and shopping facilities make Barcaldine a relaxing place to stay, recover and explore history.


The town is also home to the Australian Workers Heritage Centre. It is a national project commemorating the events which changed the course of the nation's working history. Set in over five acres of landscaped gardens, it is also home to the Wanpa-rda Matilda Outback Education Centre - a unique residential facility for schools and community groups. The centre has thousands of exhibits to honour  all Australian working men and women - railway workers, miners, teachers and many others.

Australia Post exhibit

Artesia Rail exhibit

horse-drawn Cobb & Co coach used to transport mail and people



an old fire engine





an old ambulance