Matilda Highway, QUEENSLAND
Airing Date: Jun 14th, 2004
The Matilda Highway starts at the NSW/Queensland border and runs 1700 kilometres all the way up to Kurumba in the Gulf of Carpentaria.
For such a remote and sparsely populated region, the towns along the Matilda Highway have produced many famous people and significant events, all of which you'll find out about along the way.
Winton likes to be thought of as the birth place for 'Waltzing Matilda', and you can learn all about the national song at the Waltzing Matilda Centre. There's more than one version of this famous song, as you'll find out when you visit the centre. You'll also come across the notion that the Combo Waterhole up the road might be the billabong!
Rumour has it that Waltzing Matilda was first performed in Winton, but there is another argument that it was actually at the Blue Heeler pub in Kyuna. Run by Barb Matthews, this is a unique place. It seems everyone who stops by the pub wants to become part of outback folklore, and the walls are covered from top to bottom with items like hats and shirts left behind by tourists.
The whole place is a little crazy, and if you get there for the month of April you can get even crazier with the Kyuna Surf Festival, where the only thing missing is the water! Nevertheless, it's a great excuse for everyone to get together, play a few beach games and have a beer.
Your next stop on the Matilda Highway is Cloncurry, a mining town famous for the fact it once reached the highest temperature in whole of Australia - a record 53 degrees. Apart from the temperature, apparently this small town was where the idea of Qantas was born (although you may find Winton and Longreach dispute this).
Cloncurry can also lay claim to Queensland's first 'School of the Air' and the Royal Flying Doctors Service, established by John Flynn. The RFDS Museum celebrates his work, and a visit to the museum will help you learn about how John's vision came true.
The facts
Pub rooms at the Blue Heeler start at $50 a night and caravan sites are $13.
Blue Heeler Hotel
Tel: 07 4746 8650
Waltzing Matilda Centre
Tel: 07 4657 1466
Walkabout Creek Hotel
Tel: 07 4746 8424
John Flynn Place
Tel: 07 4742 4125
Prices correct at 14/06/04
