Beyond Charleville

 Sunday 25th July 

Before leaving Evening Star this morning we went for a stroll down to their shearing shed which had a number of interesting artefacts and some impressive doors. When Michael returned to hook up I had a short wander through the scrub and found a Brown Falcon waiting to pounce on something.

As we weren’t going too far today we stopped in town for a coffee at the bakery and some Internet time. Even though we had only been 8km from town the connection was crap. Rural Queenslanders must find the Internet a frustrating nuisance!

One of Michael’s pre-travel gadget purchases was a cb radio. It hasn’t had a lot of use but it has come in handy a couple of times when we have been warned of approaching wide loads. That extra bit of time has allowed plenty of time to pull over safely.

We only had one stop today at Angellala Bridge. At 9.50pm on the 5th of September 2014, Australian transport history was made as a truck carrying 53 tonnes of ammonium nitrate caught fire, crashed and exploded at Angellala Creek.

The blast radius was felt over 30km away and had Charleville locals thinking it was an earthquake. Amazingly no one was killed although several people were seriously injured. Today, the road bridge has been rebuilt, but signs of the explosion still remain as the train bridge has not been rebuilt.

I had yet to see a Major Mitchell Cockatoo on this trip and as I got out of the car I looked up and there was a lone bird sitting quietly in the tree above my head.

We were in Wyandra by early afternoon and as it has a population of 99 there’s not a lot going on. We took a drive out to the highlight of the area , The Beach, and were pleasantly surprised by the size of it. We could imagine it being a very popular spot on a hot summers day. 

We decided to eat at the pub, where we were the only customers, and Michael indulged in a mixed grilled. There was truly enough meat on that plate for both of us…I think it should be renamed Heart Attack on a Plate!

Monday 26th July

We had been given advice on where to stay in Cunnamulla so booked in to the Warrego Riverside Tourist Park even though it was a couple of Kms from town. Once settled we headed back to town where we found the ‘sister’ water tower to the one in Charleville. Apparently the two towns have a friendly sporting rivalry over their twice a year footy game. The murals represent the significance of the game to the communities.

On out town wander we found the Cunnamulla Fella a statue erected as a tribute to Slim Dustys song of the same name. The heritage-listed Art Nouveau Memorial Fountain was erected in 1919 as a memorial to all those who had died at Gallipoli.

Just passed our van park is the Allan Tannock Weir which was completed in 1991 to provide water for irrigators and landholders in and around Cunnamulla. Michael was rather taken with his photo…which is the right way up?

Another traveller had told us about the recently opened ‘All Aboard, Cunnamulla off-the-rails’ sound and light show so having always had a soft spot for trains we decided to go along. It was in a purpose built theatre attached to the disused railway station and was an entertaining story of the impact of trains on the community …another govt funded initiative to get tourists out this way.

Out the front of the station is a sculptured town band to honour the band led by Bob Poncho. During WW2 the band met every train in and out of Cunnamulla that had Diggers on board, regardless of the time of night or day.

The theatre is set up so the community can have movie nights as well.