Tambo to Barcaldine

Our first port of call on the next morning was the dump point in Tambo.  You have to do the domestics as you go along.  Anyway, fairly close by there is Tambo Lake Park, which is a lovely peaceful spot.  It would be nice to have a picnic here, but we were way too early in the day for that. 

After Tambo we continued to head further north, visiting the township of Blackall along the way.

The sign on the entrance to town is very clever.

Remember I showed the WWI nurse’s uniform in the museum in Tambo. Well in 2023, they erected a statue of Sister Greta Norman Towner in Blackall, which was her home town.

In the same park there is a second statue honouring her brother, Lieutenant ET Towner, who was a VC recipient.  Note that his statue was erected in 2009 and it took many years for his sister to be honoured in the same manner.

Another famous Blackall legend was the shearer Jackie Howe.  He was a gun shearer in the late 1800s, setting world records for shearing the most sheep in a day, all with blade shears.  His record wasn’t beaten until 1950, and that was with mechanical shears.  His statue is in front of a replica of the hotel he once owned.

Let’s have a bit of a wander around town.

We do enjoy wandering around these old country towns.

Back on the road, Charley Bilby was enjoying watching the world go by.

Our destination for the day was the next town, Barcaldine.  We have been through a couple of times, but not stayed here.  We didn’t realise it lies on the Tropic of Capricorn.

One place I really wanted to visit was “The Silver Thimble” quilt shop.  Sandy, the owner, pops into our Zoom sessions occasionally.  The shop used to be in the main street, but is now housed in her home.  I had visited the shop on a previous visit, but didn’t know Sandy at that stage.  It was nice to meet her in person.  Of course I forgot to take a photo of us.  Duh!

Sandy was wearing a nice, colourful blouse and I commented on the fabric.  She said it was a patchwork fabric and I guessed it was a Jen Kingwell.  She happened to have some in stock, as well as several other Jen Kingwell ones.  I purchased three fat quarters to add to my collection that will be made into something fun….one day.  Her blouse was in the top floral fabric.

After our visit, it was time to have a good wander around town.  Another town with lots of history and plenty of old buildings. 

The Masonic Lodge is rather spectacular, with its weatherboard front painted to look like stonework, and the sides built from corrugated iron.  It was in beautiful condition.

There were lots of large old hotels, but several don’t seem to be trading any more. There really does seem to be a decline in country hotels.

Let’s see some more of the town.

Barcaldine’s main claim to fame is the meeting held under the “Tree of Knowledge”, which was the start of the Australian Labor Party.  

The tree has now died, but the dead tree still stands with a sculpture built around it.

Just on dark, we decided to go and have another look at the Tree of Knowledge.  It was really worth it.  With the lighting, you can see the ghostly shape of the tree.

Seeing the street in the evening light was a fitting way to end another enjoyable day.

Meet Sheepy and Charley

Back when we visited Charleville in 2019, we found a little craft shop in the main street.  It was a treasure trove of all sorts of arts and crafts and Mick found an orange crocheted sheep, of all things.  

Surprisingly, he decided to buy it, because it is orange, and Sheepy has lived on our caravan bed ever since.

Of course, we had to visit that shop again on this trip.  It is called “Made in Murwah”.  Murwah is the name of the local shire council.  It is still a treasure trove of wonderful art and crafts, all of a high quality.

This year, the thing that caught our eye was a crocheted bilby.  There were plush bilbies for sale at the Bilby Centre, but they didn’t interest us at all.  This little one was so much cuter, and we are pretty sure made by the same lady as Sheepy.

We had to give this little bilby a name.  Now, was it a boy or a girl?  Boy bilbies have a bit of a boof head, as they do a bit of head butting, while girls have a more fine head shape.  We think she is a girl.  What to call her?  Well, she came from Charleville, so “Charley” it is.  She sat up like Jackie (well Charley) in the truck with us as we travelled along.  She was very well behaved and has requested that she comes along on all our future travels.