The road to Roma was great. The landscape is different to the landscape of the past few days.
A coffee break at Mitchell for the best bakery yet kept is going
Today is sales day in Roma. We heard this was a must. And today was to be a huge day of sales.
What an experience.
The cattle are all penned in groups. The auctioneer moves down one side shouting out prices at a cracking pace. The stock agents are on the other side bidding.
Auctioneers. Agents for the owners bid. Pen after pen.
The cattle are weighed and priced.
Check out the prices. It is amazing how quickly it all happens.
The interactive centre on site explains everything that happens. Wonderful displays.
I needed to get my cowgirl look happening.
I needed a check shirt,❌ warm padded vest, ❌ jeans ✔️pearl earrings ✔️ sturdy slightly muddy boots ❌ ( mine were too clean ) cattle hat ❌. Mine was a sheep style narrow brim. 😬 cattle hats are wide brim.
Definitely would be identified as a non local. A blow in!
Cattle hat. Wide brim.
Feeling slightly dusty we stopped at the wonderful sculpture exhibition by the side of the road. Local sculptors made some great work. It was up for sale. Between $2000 and &12000.
Loved this wooden one titled Family Tree
Visiting the Roma bush gardens helped us identify local trees.
Though slightly amused when we had to move off the walking track for a police car
Back in the car. Y 5pm for a visit to the Big Rig. Oil & gas show.
The story of gas & oil rigs in Roma The big rig.
Interesting show interesting story but slightly underwhelming.
Tomorrow we explore the Main Street area of Roma before heading to stay on our friends cattle property at Drillham.
Our morning started out very chilly! It was 0% here last night.
First stop was the bakery recommended by Sue, the mental health nurse we met in Thargomindah. She was right. It was great. the Sun was out and we sat and enjoyed both it and the coffee.
Across the road – nothing is far here , we went to the Historic House Museum.
Dating back to 1887 the building was purpose built as Charleville’s first national bank, before it went onto become a private boarding house until the 1970’s when it was purchased by the Charleville and District Historical Society. It then became the museum it is today. Filled to the brim with treasures of yesteryear, some dating back as far as the 1800’s.
I particularly like some of the old magazines. I once wrote a blog post on how to pack for a holiday. This magazine gave timeless suggestions on packing including some hints about gloves. Something I had overlooked!!
Visiting country towns I like to support the arts and crafts done by locals.
When I had young children I did various arts & craft and used to sell at markets. I did screen printed t shirts, mosaics, painted pots, folk art painted timber boxes , watercolour paintings – just to name a few. so I like to buy local.
In the store I bought a wooden truck for my little boys, a painted lady beetle for the garden and a metal chook to guard the cubby house.
Lovely back garden of the buy local shop.
Next stop was out of town. We had booked on the secret WW2 tour. How many people knew there is such a site here in Charleville.
We discovered why over 3500 United States Army Airforce personnel were stationed in Charleville during WWII. Julie our guide led, in convoy, a tour to discover; aviation history, romance stories, living quarters and the extreme measures taken to keep one of the most sought after secrets of WWII, safe.
That secret, still not written about in the brochure was the Norden Bombsite. It is a piece of top secret machinery used during the war to pinpoint bomb sites during the day.
It’s housed in this bomb proof shelter.
And when I show and tell you this you have to keep it secret! Shhhh
The actual Norden bomb site.
From there we stopped at other areas.
A more fun one especially for the local girls. Particularly necessary facilities
During the tour we got in and out of our 4wheel drives – again we were so pleased we had left our white BMW at home!
The other tourists were mostly caravaners. A man crazy about things military, from Ballarat. A singlet wearing man and his wife with their two dogs , a younger man in the area filming the Channel 7 show Opal Hunters. such a diverse group.
Next stop was the Royal Flying Doctors. Such an interesting museum. They do so much to support the people who live in these remote areas. Please donate if you get the chance.
Heading back to town we stopped at a park which had the most unusual sculptures. They were actually an invention. What do you think they are?
Did you guess? Read the text on the next picture.
What an idea. One that didn’t work.
Back to the motel to read the papers before heading to the Historic Hotel Corones
Built in 1924 it is quite a landmark. Wonderful timber staircase
Dinner called so we inquired. Bob the owner suggested Malaysian. Not what we expected. They had the usual pub fare. Burgers. Pizzas etc. but he said they were trialing Malaysian curries. We decided to live dangerously.
Not bad at all.
However the lovely people we met on the way in didn’t feel so adventurous and opted for pizza.
We met these two couples from properties in Moree. What lovely fun people.
We’ve exchanged contact details and I’m sure we’ll catch up. They have kids in Brisbane so often come up. Hope so. They were great fun.
We couldn’t spend too long chatting as we were booked at the Cosmos Centre. Back out of town near the Secret WW2site.
After these indoor photos we went out doors and for an hour and used powerful telescopes and learned about and viewed several stars, a nebula, and finally the best view of the moon I’ve ever seen. Quite amazing.
Our guides for this were 17 year astronomy nuts. They were so professional. In the dark it was impossible to see what they looked like but they sounded so knowledgeable. we’ll done to them
By now pretty close to freezing we wanted to get back to the hotel. Tomorrow Roma.
Why take the short route when you can take the long way and explore this big country of ours.
First stop Noccundra for the second oldest pub in Qld. The Noccundra Hotel is smaller than the Nindagully Pub and much more remote.
A coffee for me. Yes, even out this far you can get a good coffee. AND believe it or not a beer for Steve. At 10.30 in the morning simply because it is the second oldest pub!
There were some campers and fishers enjoying the waterhole. Again it’s very muddy. No blue water here despite the beautiful blue sky.
The landscape here is flat and red
I chatted to the lady at the bar. One of a population of 3! She’s been in Noccundra for 9 years. How on earth I wonder. You’d have to have a hobby that didn’t involve drinking. I think I’d write. Perhaps paint. What would you do?
Actually, it would be like living in lockdown. All the time! With a few visitors a day allowed in.
Next stop Eromanga. Slightly bigger population. Also home to a beautiful metal dinosaur named Knot-o-saurus. It was gifted to this town by former Lord Mayor of Brisbane, Campbell Newman after it was centrepiece for the G20.
Eromanga is also famous for being the town in Australia furthest from the sea. Who would have thought ! So I got my map out and was looking at distances.
Down the road – about another 2.5hrs is Quilpie. Slightly bigger with people having a bit of a bowls carnival. So we saw some people. Sunday in small towns you don’t see a lot of people around. Everything is closed.
Arrived in Charleville at around 5pm and it was getting very cool. We chose the Rocks Motel as they have a restaurant and we thought that would be a good option.
When we checked in the young girl, Phoneix at reception told us her family had only taken ownership of the motel a week ago. They found the restaurant staff has been stealing. Cash, meat and alcohol. So they had to let them go. Restaurant closed! Now they need a chef and staff. So hard in small towns
So it was off to the RSL for dinner. All tables seemed to have travellers and workers in high vis vests.
We waved to the motel owners as we left. Even they needed a feed!
After the day’s activities at the muster we decided to join the party at the Bulloo River Hotel.
Walking the 700 metres to the hotel from our cabin site we started to wonder if it was really on. It was so quiet. But as we approached we saw 4 wheel drives lining the street.
Then the hum of voices from the lawn area adjoining the hotel.
Excitement mounting, we entered the hotel, bought a beer and moved to the outdoor area. There must have been 20 tables of 20 people eating and drinking trying to keep warm in the chilly night air.
The food was a roast & veg. We joined the queue and got our paper plate and were served by the volunteers – varying ages but all friendly.
We joined a table towards the back of the area – near the fire pits and got lucky. We sat with some lovely locals. Sue from Charleville, Lisa from Cunnamulla, both mental health nurses for Qld Health. Their husbands were there and made us very welcome.
Boy! They had some interesting stories about life in country towns.
Apparently Thargomindah is well run – with a local mayor and a policeman who do a great job. the Policeman has 5 children at the local school which brings its number to 25 and keeps it open.
The local council actually pay teacher salaries otherwise Qld education would close the school. Not viable! So the community subsidies the teachers.
We ate and drank and eventually too cold to stay we headed back to the cabin to watch the second half of the Wallabies game. And they won against France!!!
It was great spending time talking to locals. It’s not easy living in a remote community.
As we made our way the 3km out of town we wondered how many would be attending the Music Muster.
Judging by the caravans set up around the rodeo ring – quite a few. turns out it’s about 400 people.
We got out of our car looking like city dwellers invading the caravaners space. I was thankful we had hired a 4wheel drive and hadn’t brought our white BMW!
The tents were set up , the crowd were all relaxing on their deck chairs and the country artists were on their way.
It was off to the canteen for coffee first then our chairs and extra layers of clothing. The rain has gone because a fierce wind has picked up.
It was dusty and cold. We moved to a new spot and I got chatting to a lady visiting from Griffith. She said they’d been on the road a few weeks and we’re heading g further north chasing the warmer weather.
I browsed the few stalls and wondered which boots and hat I might buy.
Or perhaps some camping gear.
We listened to Bob and Brian and Ted. Everyone seems to know them so they don’t need surnames. They sang about rain, lost love, pink cars the mountains and before long I was tapping along.
I spent some time checking out the other 🎶 muster fans and decided we really didn’t fit the age range or appropriate outfit selection.
Time to return to town for a burger lunch at our cabin. Sitting outside in a sheltered sunny spot we dusted ourselves off before setting off for a wander around town and along the river.
There’s a lovely river walk where a few fisher people were casting lines. The river is so muddy you wouldn’t know what you might hook.
It’s strangely beautiful looking at water, the same colour as the riverbank it touches.
It would be easy to sit here for hours fishing line in hand. Very meditative.
The town itself has only a few amenities. One Foodworks for groceries, a petrol station with hot food, a pub, the Oasis motel & restaurant , an information centre, primary school, swimming pool and best of all a very neat Library!
For not the first time I wondered what people do here all the time? You’d have to do something creative and get involved in community activities.
I’d say today most locals are out at the muster volunteering on the canteen and ticket sales.
Tonight we’re off to the Bulloo River Hotel for dinner and a continuation of the music with Rob, Tom, Brian, Ged & Trudy …….
Lots of rain last night so we had a slow start to our day. I love these little motels in country towns. All compact, clean and good for a night.
Golders is the place to go for outdoor indoor wear. Lots of flanno / flannelette shirts. Perfect for country wear. Hats of all sizes and jeans, boots , fleecy jackets. Even Bluey accessories for kids.
Steve got some jeans. ✔️ I tried for gum boots but no luck in my size.
Rain was still lightly falling, settling the red dust so we headed off.
First stop, Bollon. Coffee at Deb’s where all the caravaners – (known as ‘grey nomads’ here in Australia) stop. They are all over 60 and have grey hair – sorts & flannelette shirts for the men. Fleecy jackets & jeans for the women.
We crossed the wide street to the Heritage Centre. Run by volunteers it is a good collection of photographs and memorabilia collected from over many years. Tells a story about the local people which now numbers around 110.
Further down the street we stopped at the Nullawooka Art gallery of the First Nations People. we met Bill, a proud Gwamu/Kooma elder and a traditional custodian of the area.
Bill is a charming man and we could have stayed chatting to him the whole morning. He has a small gallery full of well chosen art, crafts, books & food. All are made by local First Nations people. We bought a few gifts, books, tea towel and postcards / with an image by artist Rebecca Jane who visited from Hervey Bay. It shows the town people and buildings.
The Nullawokka Gallery was the Post Office
Though it used to be the Post Office, Bill doesn’t sell stamps so he send me around the corner to the new PO. Run by Amanda who hails from WA she chatted about relocating to Bollon. Of all places. Fascinating how some people will uproot themselves and pop up somewhere completely different. She was lovely.
Back into the car and out along the straight road passing huge fields into Cunnamulla. Lunch break.
Sharing a sandwich in the park we were joined by the local busker. He was weathered by life in the country. Very few teeth but a big smile and loved a chat.
He had set up in the rotunda with his guitar, mic and sound system. When he returned to singing we were his only audience as he sang the same song about Jesus. Over and over using one chord. A great character.
Onto Eulo and the giant metal sculpture of a lizard. We noted on the map of points off interest in the town – the lizard race track. Pity that’s not on.
Off again on the straight as an arrow road we stopped at Lake Bindegully. By now it was very windy and getting late. The 5 km walk into the lake didn’t appeal so sadly we missed the bird life.
Thargomindah, meaning ‘cloud of dust’ is living up to its name. It’s very windy and dusty.
It’s a small quiet town with a population of around 250. It was a Cobb & Co stopping point. This weekend it’s holding its annual Country Music Muster.
Our little cabin in the caravan park is great and dinner at the local pub was friendly and filling.
Looking forward to tomorrow’s country & western music.
We had the heaviest rain last night in Goondiwindi. I’m thinking of buying gum boots for the boot scooting at Thargomindah on Saturday.
We had a lovely coffee to start the day at The Larder in the main shopping street. It’s a popular place and with lots of tourists and road workers in town we had to wait to get a little table.
You may have heard of Goondiwindi Cotton. It’s a family business with a great story.
Their clothes are great quality and timeless in design. We both managed to spend up. The sale had started so we couldn’t resist.
I was popping in and out of the change room selecting when I noticed a woman admiring my jumper. I persuaded her to try a few things. She bought ! She suggested the owners employ me!
We took their brochure about the art sculpture trail and went to find it.
Nungwai On the outskirts of town, we explore the unique and eclectic collection from local artists, Angus & Sandie Wilson. Wonderful
I could continue posting images. There were so many wonderful funny, quirky, sculptures. If you’re in this area don’t miss it.
Then it was off to Bowen Lane. It’s not just the big cities that make use of it lanes. Goondiwindi is up to the minute in style.
This great shop is in Bowen Lane
It would have been easy to stay longer in Gundi but the Nindagully Pub was waiting for us.
We were here a few years ago and loved it. Today after the rain the car park and camp ground was a muddy sight.
We dodged the mud puddles and made for the bar. The oldest pub in Queensland still attracts a crowd. It is quite eccentric but so much fun and easy to spend time wandering the pubs rooms or sitting in the garden under a shelter sporting a chandelier! Shabby chic for sure.
Note the chandelier A fire pit for the chilly evenings.
Feeling full and relaxed we headed west to St George. A small town making an effort to welcome tourists. Sadly due to rain their special picnic races this Saturday have cancelled. No not covid. Rain. The track is too muddy.
There is a local winery where we did our best to boost the economy. The charming young man who gave us a tasting of their range of wines turned out to be the owners son.
Jock Blacket
Riversands Winery is 2 out of town – out along the Balonne River. it’s a small set up but has some pretty tasty wines. We bought a mixed dozen – and decided to sit in the garden and enjoy the sunshine with some cheese and wine. It may have rained a lot last night but today is now warm and sunny.
Jock advised us not to miss the sunset over the river so we moved back to town. We checked into the motel along with the local road workers in their big Utes and dirty boots.
Heading for the river we took the well planned riverwalk and enjoyed the sunset through the trees.
I could keep posting pictures. It was so stunning.
We walked back to our motel and decided to finish the wine and cheese and not eat out. We had definitely had enough for lunch at Nindagully.
We are now relaxing & watching the news hoping we are far away from covid spreaders. Though looking at the number of NSW number plates were beginning to wonder if people are escaping to Queensland.
Every town has a Memorial This one was very special.
It’s good to get away for a road trip – especially during these random covid lockdowns.
We decided to stay in Queensland to avoid border closures.
Looking at the ‘What’s On’ on Queensland website and the dates we could travel, we came upon the Thargomindah Channel Country Music muster.
2 Days of Bootscootn’, Toetappin’, Bush Poetry , Country and Western music.
Thargomindah is a long way from Brisbane which means a couple of nights along the way.
First stop – one of my favourite country towns, Goondiwindi. This is primarily cotton country. As you drive from Toowoomba you start to see little cotton balls along the roadside. And rolled bales in the fields.
Arriving in Gundi – as it’s known – we are staying for the third time in the motel just off the Marshall Street. Just near the New Dynasty Chinese restaurant, where we are meeting friends for dinner tonight.
I headed straight out for a walk down Marshall St. I love the Art Deco buildings.
The Main Street has beautiful buildings and a good selection of shops. Nutmeg with its homewares, Audrey has beautiful clothes and just off the Main Street is the Goondiwindi Cotton Company. I’m headed there tomorrow!
We met up with Sandi and Mike Henderson, parents in law to our friend Lauren Harrison- now Henderson. We love catching up for a drink and tonight a meal at the Chinese. Lauren& Nick have two little boys. Beautiful boys – and George 3 is mad about everything farming. we had a great meal and shared lots of chat and laughs before the two little boys needed their beds!
We headed to our motel in time for some TV.
Tonight is State of Origin night and this town so close to the border of NSW is torn about who to support!
Tomorrow more exploring along the art & sculpture trail before heading to St George.
frans travel tales 