Well if we thought it had been cold until now we were
wrong....but we were a little better prepared this time with De looking more
like the Michelin Man from the many layers of clothing! Due to the fact that we
left in summer and were up north until just before we were coming home we had
packed very few winter clothes, mine consisting of a jumper, 1 pair of
tracksuit pants and two pairs of
jeans.....that’s it so I was wearing most them when I woke up!
We headed into town and created a new record, even for us,
arriving at the caravan park to check in at 9:15am! Luckily they were happy to
accept us! Being only 4 nights from home this will be our last stay in van park
while Doin’ the Block. We are a well oiled machine now with De quickly
disappearing to the laundry while the boys and I set up, and an hour later with
the clothes flapping in the freezing wind we headed into town.
While I will always associate Longreach with being an
agricultural town I could see ten times as many tourists as cockys. They have
successfully diversified their economy and it has really helped. When I was
last in Longreach in 1990 the stockman’s hall of fame was only two years old
and if you told somebody you were going to Longreach on holidays you would have
been laughed at. Now with the QANTAS museum and a host of coach, boat rides and
outback ‘experience’ shows the caravan park and motels are all full and there
are a heap of them...well done Longreach!
We strolled up and down the bustling main street, which is
unfortunately very different to the ones we have seen recently with most
struggling to have a shops that sell the basics let alone something
different. Having picked up a few
supplies we headed back to the truck running into Judy, who had accompanied us
to the Prairie Races and we tentatively told her where we were staying, worried
what the consequences might be!
On the way back to camp we stopped by the Longreach train
station. I am not certain of the exact details but from memory waaay back on
February 15th 1892 my great great grand father, on my father’s side,
was on the first train that rolled into Longreach coming originally from
Rockhampton. My recollection was that he was driving it and mum if you are
reading this can you remember the details and/or find the picture of it? 122
years later I lined my two boys up on the same platform and took a photo as
what I suspect to be the youngest of the male lineage.
My sister taught at ‘the school of the air’ on my last visit
and I was hoping to use this to help us get an impromptu tour of the school but
as it is school holidays there was nobody there for me to convince!
After a quick lunch we headed to the Stockman’s Hall of
Fame. The building and displays are almost the same as they were 25 years ago
the massive difference is that there are people there! It felt like a morgue
last time and now it was more like Queen Street.
We had a quick look at art
gallery before taking the guided tour of the facility by the curator. He
quipped earlier on that it was a large group and that usually he never finishes
with nearly as many as he starts with....we found out why...he was about as
exciting as watching paint dry, in winter, in the shade. We made it half way
through the second gallery before we guided the boys towards the stand of their
‘whip maker in residence’.
We all listened intently as he talked to other escapees
about plaiting whips and showing others how to twist a cracker. I had made up
my own version of how to twist one for the boys whip as I think we are now on
number 10 or 11! Jack’s consistent cracking of the whip has also caused the end
of the ‘fall’ (the straight leather part at the end of the whip) to break
making it very hard to tie the cracker to. Luckily Anthony was very
understanding and promised the boys if they bring it along in the morning he
will put a new fall on and get it
working as good as new!
Free to continue our self guided tour we looked through the
pioneers and station life galleries and
it was hard to imagine the hardships these people had to endure to open this
country up. The isolation, the toughness of the land and terrain and the
unforgiving nature of raising stock must have been incredible. While today’s
stockmen and women have it so much easier than they early settlers I can’t help
but think how gaping the divide is between what they still experience today
when compared to ‘us’ city folk, ironically I think they me be better off for
it!
We had to go back to get ready for our last big night out on
the trip. We decided to splurge on the dinner and show package at the bar and
grill attached to the Hall of Fame. In our bestest rags we headed back to the
restaurant grabbing a drink and positioning ourselves in the mini grandstand.
Now I am not usually a big fan of these shows but this guy was pretty good. The
show was to long to go into in detail about but some of the tricks, which I am
positive won’t sound to funny include cleaning his horse with a leaf blower,
the horse stealing his own blanket, the horse ‘bolting’ with him on it when he
was trying to ride it without a bridle.
At this point it became more of a
comedy show with the introduction of a present for his Mother in Law, which
Jack helped to carry out, that they dropped containing two piglets that a
kelpie dog with a teddy on its back rounded up into a mini cattle truck pulled
by a cantankerous Shetland pony .
All of this was topped off by his grand
finale when he returned playing his guitar riding a 1000kg bullock who was
wearing a cowboy hat!
After a lot of laughs we headed in for dinner and while De
and the boy’s steak were sensational I think mine may have been there since
last Tuesday’s performance! It had been a good night and we headed back and
cranked the heater up and while De usually refuses to allow a heater to run all
night, tonight there was no opposition!
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