Woohoo! Back on the open road with LSM sharing the steering wheel, eagerly anticipating ten days of admiring the western landscape and enjoying some relaxing music and activities together and collecting material for the new series of stories – Seats of Knowledge : Yarning the Downs.
Destination Day 1 = Blackall
There was nothing much to admire from Toowoomba to Dalby except the better condition of the road and the hash brown and rich hot chocolate from Hungry Jack’s in Dalby. Cotton blown from the harvested fields dotted the snaking highway and my early morning shift transferred to LSM. Chinchilla was touting its watermelon festival with its ‘big’ slice of the fruit at the entrance to the town, but it was too early to embrace anything exciting, so we drove on westward.
However, by the time we pulled up at the Miles Museum complex I knew we had struck our first ‘keeper’. This is a great tribute to the community, and the cute kangaroo seat started our treasure trove for the stories to come. History, environment and cultural knowledge have been crafted into a great exhibition for locals and visitors alike. Well done Miles.
Sometimes the wide open road and the sound on the tyres on the road transport me to those yarn spinners like my father and grandfather and I am smiling away. The flashes of yellow from the flowering wattles along the roadside transform the tedium of the scrubby landscape and the kilometres keep rolling along.
Between the now tiny burghs of Drillham and Dulacca there is now a line of towering wind turbines. Controversary and political point-scoring will continue as Australia and nations around the world grapple with energy and water challenges well into the future, and these scultpural wind warriors will be part of the arguments. But set against the glorious blue sky, they certainly make a statement.
Roma and its history and contemporary centre of agricultural support can wait til our return journey. We travelled on.
Pubs have always been the scene of yarns, the characters that spin them and the seats that have seen many sidle on to them, and the fancy new pub at Yuleba and the witty Muckadilla pub provided more treasures. You will have to wait til the short stories come out to see the evidence.
The Scar Trees at Amby were fascinating. What stories they could tell! Definitely worth a stop.
Earlier in the year I enjoyed the artesian water at the spa at Mitchell. It was a hot and cold dip between pools in summer and very refreshing. Today’s drive through Mitchell brought back the smell of the suplhur and the enjoyment of facilitating a workshop of delightful rural women of the area for a UniSQ research project in the iconic building next to the spa. This visit saw an exploration of the Memorial Park, where we had lunch and I hatched more plans……while LSM was hatching other thoughts.
Always drawn to the amazing work of teachers and adminstrators who often get a rough deal from media and parents, it is wonderful to recognise the mighty work of dedicated educators in each of these remote schools and to hear the stories of all the successes that have been achieved. Leave the small numbers of negatives consigned to the sensationalising media tarts.
Morven was another great stop. It’s community has gone above and beyond to protect and promte its heritage and we stopped to visit the newly opened tribute to the nurses of the Vietnamese War. Full credit and congratulations goes to the inspiring local author Annabelle Brayley and her team who have designed and developed this fitting memorial to the work of these women. Her written work trumpets the noble profession…..and is fittingly recognised nationally. Grab a copy and see if you agree.
Another piece of history at Morven is the hut made of Kerosine Tins. Fascinating to think of its construction and use. Great to see it honoured. A community committed to preservation.
Next on the drive was Augathella. Last visited with our teenage grand daughter a few years ago, we were pleased to see that the park with the local identity of the Meat Ant, beautiful flowers and cutlural notes were now enhanced by a Seat of Knowledge and an extended memorial to townsfolk and were enlivening the place. It is well worth a visit.
So, under the stretch of cloud formations which were quite worthy of a dedication on Jenny ‘s ABC weather watch we drove on to The Black Stump and the end of our 10 hour stint to our overnight stay in Blackall. Quite a day!
Molly B travlyn 