2 August - Longreach Qld

We left Winton early this morning for the relatively short trek (180km) to Longreach. After hours of driving through some of the most desolate country in the grip of drought, coming into Longreach is a pleasant surprise. It's a beautiful little town which has catered really well for its caravanning visitors. Once we had set ourselves up in the Longreach Tourist Park our first planned visit was to the Australian Stockmans Hall of Fame. This fantastic architect designed complex, houses a wealth of information and artifacts tracing the settling of this outback region of Australia by sheep and cattle farmers. Some of the local cattle and sheep stations are larger than many European countries and have always endured very harsh conditions to raise cattle and sheep.

The Hall of Fame is beautifully presented and it would be easy to spend a couple of days here to do it justice. After a quick lunch at the Hall of Fame we then visited the Qantas Founders Museum. QANTAS or the Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Service was founded in 1920 by three Australian airmen returning from WW1, right hear in Winton and the first services flew from here in Longreach. The original QANTAS hangar and workshops form the basis a terrific museum commemorating those early days of aviation.

The DeHavilland aircraft featured here was the first plane ever operated by QANTAS.

The company also owned and operated Catelina flying boats and the museum features a beautiful example of this iconic plane.

The museum also has a complete Boeing 747 (Bunbury) the first one purchased by QANTAS.

The aircraft in this photo was the first to feature a toilet. Note the pilot is located in an open cockpit at the rear and the passengers are in an enclosed cabin at the front. Once again, a very interesting destination and well worth at least a half day visit.

We finished the day by attending a show/dinner evening featuring lots of horse riding and whip cracking. Our trip  back to the coast continues tomorrow.