While staying at the beautiful and tranquil Lara Wetlands campground in Central West Queensland, we ventured a couple of times to the closest town, Barcaldine, roughly 28 kilometres away.
Known as “Barcy” to the locals (pronounced “Barky”) the town plays a hugely important and symbolic role in the history of Australia.
It was here that the famous 1891 Shearers’ strike took place which eventually led to the formation of the Australian Labour movement and the establishment of the Australian Labor Party.
The famous Tree of Knowledge where the strikers held their historic rallies, still stands despite the best efforts of an unknown individual who intentionally poisoned the ancient ghost gum tree in 2006.
The massive dose of poison killed the tree but the town refused to let the symbol die. The dead tree was carefully extracted, preserved, and returned to its exact original location – outside the train station – under an award-winning architectural monument.
Today, a massive, 18-metre high timber cube containing thousands of suspended wood slats hangs above the preserved trunk.
Throughout the small town (population around 1500), there are many reminders of this significant piece of history. Interpretive panels and displays tell the tale of the 1891 strike and the fates of thirteen leaders of the strike who were found guilty of sedition and conspiracy. The leaders were sentenced to three years of hard labour in the prison on lonely St Helena Island off the coast of Brisbane.
We spent a morning at the Australian Workers Heritage Centre which is spread across over two hectares of beautifully landscaped gardens.
There were various historic exhibits to enjoy which were housed in original heritage buildings spread around a lovely billabong.
We were glad to see the young Tree of Knowledge – a direct living descendant of the original Tree of Knowledge – looking vibrant and beautiful.
Our next stop was Longreach – just over 100 kilometres along the highway from Barcy and roughly 1,250 kilometres (roughly 777 miles) from Brisbane.
We were excited to be visiting Longreach because of its iconic attractions – the Qantas Founders Museum and The Stockman’s Hall of Fame.
The free campground was very full – we later discovered that there was a big fishing competition and a bush fair taking place that weekend.
Fortunately there was an extensive overspill area for camping and we were able to find a good if rather dusty bush camp. This turned out to be quite a special spot – peaceful, a perfect place to watch the sun set and as a bonus we saw Brolgas (a large crane, native to Australia but mostly only ever seen in the outback) feeding close by.
the sun set
We weren’t up early enough the next day to watch the fishing competition but the small fair was in full swing and we had a good wander round, browsed the stalls and watched the local children being totally enthralled by the very good magician.
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