The Extra Mile

Tibooburra

The outback town of Tibooburra is known as the 'Capital of Corner Country'. It's area first explored in 1844 by Charles Sturt. Pioneer Park hosts a replica of his 27ft long whale boat that he carted by wagon north-west to Lake Pinaroo as he searched for the fabled ‘inland sea’.

Once referred to as ' The Granites', the region saw 1000's of prospectors arrive with the discovery of gold. It is said that during heavy rains gold was exposed in the streets. Rain doesn't come often to the arid landscape. When it does, you may not see gold, but the area comes alive with wildflowers.

Tibooburra, aboriginal for 'heaps of rocks' was established at the height of this gold rush in 1881. The 450 million year old granite tors that surround the town are part of the southern boundary to Sturt National Park. Its north-west boundary is the iconic Cameron Corner, where the NSW-QLD border intersects with the NSW-SA border.

Tibooburra is one of the many outback places Stonestreet's will visit on our Outback Tracks and Corner Country Tour.

Tibooburra

It's name means 'heaps of rocks' and the tiny town of Tibooburra is 1300km from Sydney and 900 km from Adelaide.

It's the largest of the towns in these here parts, which makes it the 'Capital of Corner Country'. You're in the real outback here folks.

If the rugged outback appeal of Tibooburra is to your liking, you are going to love our upcoming 'The Rugged Outback Tour'. More information on where you'll go and what you'll see and do can be found here.

A former 'local' outside the 'local'

This tall, rather imposing chap is known simply as Mutt. That would be short for Muttaburrasaurus or, to give him his full name, Muttaburrasaurus langdoni.

This as-large-as-life replica stands just across the road from the Grand Hotel, in Hughenden, Queensland.

These dinosaurs lived along the shores of a huge inland sea, the Eromanga Sea, which covered large parts of inland Australia about 110 million years ago. The Muttaburrasaurus is our most well known dinosaur, turning up in various locations in Queensland and New South Wales.

It was named after the town of Muttaburra in Queensland, where it's remains were first discovered. Other remains have been found near Hughenden and Mutt stands as a reminder of those great creatures that once roamed these lands, many millions of years ago.

You can meet some other locals in our To the Centre and Back May 2010 photoset.

If a trip of this size seems a bit much, you could always try one of our upcoming day trips. You can find more infomation here.

 

The Family Hotel Tibooburra

Toole's  Family Hotel in Tibooburra NSW was built in 1882 by Francis Bladon. Originally known as the Tattersall's Hotel the name was changed to Downie's Family Hotel in 1887, and has since retained the title of the "Family", despite having many owners in it's 129 year history. 

Constructed of locally quarried sandstone with a verandah along the front, in the early days the hotel was part of the Cobb and Co network and some of the original horse stables remain standing today.

In the late 1960's and 1970's a group of highly acclaimed Australian artists came to the Corner Country for inspiration for their work and as "The Family" was their chosen watering hole it soon became obvious to  artist Clifton Pugh that the bare wall need a mural.

In October 1967 Clif Pugh had been painting with Fred Williams out and about in the Corner Country  and after a whiskey binge night at "The Family" Clif  decided to sleep off rather than going painting with Fred  but later thought better of it and decided to  decorate the Family Hotel for the then publican Joss and Barney Davey with a lewd mural of Bacchus in his birthday suit surrounded by naked nymphs. The local policeman received 3 complaints about the offending part by three "protestant old maids" .  Joss Davey said if Michelangelo's in the Vatican was good enough for the Pope than Clif Pugh was good enough for her.

Three days later it made the Broken Hill news and the local policeman had three more complaints so he had to act and instructed the publican to cover up the offending appendage or he would close the hotel down. A fig leaf was reluctantly added to keep the locals happy. This mural contributed to Clifton Pugh’s fame thanks to the media interest from all over the world.

Today you can find works from other artists. Russell Drysdale, Rick Amor, Eric Minchin (Brushmen of the Bush fame) Howard William Steer (Flying Doctor Artist) Philip Drummond have contributed their works, making the walls of "The Family" a "living" art gallery.

Today, the hotel is owned by the Toole Family, Kathy and Dan, who offer their own style of  friendly outback hospitality to locals and travellers alike.

The Family Hotel Tibooburra is a "must see before you die" destination with over 50,000 people a year making the journey to this Australian Outback icon.

2011 is the greenest Tibooburra has been since 1974. The Tooles expect the wildflowers this year to be at their best with acres of Sturt Desert Peas and the valley’s Darling Pea.

Story by Kathy Toole, Toole Family Hotel, Tibooburra

The Toole Family Hotel in Tibooburra is one of the many pubs we'll be visiting on our Historic Outback Pubs tour.

Ancient Sentinels of the Nambung

These ancient sentinels rise up out of the sand that was once covered by the sea, which is now to be found beyond the distant trees.

When the sea retreated some thirty thousand years ago, huge deposits of sea shells remained. Over time the elements have eroded the sand and soil away. All that remains are these limestone pillar-like structures.

The ranks of these limestone guards have been thinned as the winds have eroded them away. Who knows what will remain of them in another thirty thousand years?

The Pinnacles, now part of the Nambung National Park, can be found about 250 km north of Perth in Western Australia. You can find more photos of them and other scenic wonders of this big state in our West Coast Tour photo set.

The Driller

You'll find this smiling, work weary chap in the town of Roma in south western Queensland. As you can see, he stands near the front entrance of the 'Big Rig' complex.

He is a representative of the people - the engineers, field workers and explorers - that were an integral part of the development of the oil and gas industry in Australia. 'The Driller', in conjunction with the 'Big Rig', celebrate the efforts and achievements of these hard working pioneers of the industry. They are a part of the history of Roma, the town where this country's oil and gas industry was born.

He is also based on a particularly colourful character from those early days of oil exploration -  John Machado - who arrived in Roma around 1923, with fellow Californian Clarence Evans. These two men were largely responsible for training the first of the oil drilling teams that exploited the area's rich gas and oil reserves.

For more outback history and adventure take a look at our Outback Escape photos. For a real outback adventure join our Waltzing Through Outback Queensland Tour.

The Maluka and The Little Missus

Here be the final resting place of a couple of bush-folk of the Never-Never.

 

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You'll become acquainted with these two, and many other colourful characters, in the classic novel from the turn of the 20th century, 'We of the Never Never' by Jeanie 'Mrs. Aeneas' Gunn.

In the book Jeannie Gunn tells of her journey to Elsey Station, a huge cattle station south of Darwin in the Northern Territory. You'll learn of her experiences as the only white woman in this vast land of men and cattle and how she comes to terms with the harsh realities of life on an outback station over a century ago. She speaks of the land as so intoxicating, you may 'never never' want to leave.

The homestead, which Jeannie shared with her husband, Aeneas Gunn, until his death, has been reconstructed near the Mataranka Hot Springs and was used during filming of the movie based on the book.  You can find more about the movie here. The complete text of 'We of the Never Never' has fallen into the public domain, and you can read it for free here.

 

After watching the movie and having a read of the book you'll probably want to visit Elsey Station and we have just the trip for you to do so - Tour to the Top End & Kakadu.  This 14 day adventure will take you through the Never Never. We leave Toowoomba on the 31 May 2011 so call us on 07 4696 9825 to book.

 For more photos from this remote part of the country, go have a look at Across the Top 2010 and Across the Top Tour photo sets.

 

Memorial to selflessness - Halls Creek WA

You'll find these two chaps, immortalised in bronze, outside the shire offices in Halls Creek in Western Australia.

 'Russian Jack', as the wheelbarrow pusher was known, made himself the stuff of legend when he pushed his gravely ill mate over 300kms from Halls Creek to Wyndham.

Can you appreciate the magnitude of this feat? Just walking 300 km would be arduous enough, but then add pushing a wheelbarrow with, oh say, a 70kg man in it. This man is not just dead weight either, he is very sick and needs to be looked after, all the while you're pushing him across the desert toward medical help. Then there is food and water for both of them, so add that to the wheelbarrow's weight.

Russian Jack will be wearing his work boots as he trudges through the sandy soil toward the distant horizon. Not for him the super technical walking footwear of today or a nice flat even surface to walk on. This fellow is tramping along a rutted desert track, sandy and boggy in some places, rocky and gibber strewn in others.

The level of sheer guts and determination needed to accomplish this feat is incomprehensible these days. We wouldn't have a clue what it would have been like for these two hardy gold miners - we can only imagine. This is true heroism.

Want to see more? Then come and have a look at our Across the Top 2010 photo set.

In Memorium - Broken Hill

It sits on the edge of the 'mullock heap', high above the city of Broken Hill.

The heavy steel panels of this dramatic structure gradually fold overhead, evoking the enclosure experienced underground. This is accentuated by the timber props 'bracing' the steel panels, which constrict at first and then open up, framing the view across the city. 

Within the memorial are free standing glass panels, etched with the names of those who have died mining the 'Line of Lode' since 1883. 

The memorial spiritually and symbolically represents the human tragedy of more than 800 deaths since mining began here. It's an iconic monument that reflects the memories and spirit of the city of Broken Hill.

More striking photos like this can be found in our Opals Tour photo set. If you've never been to Opal Country (or would just love to return) check out Stonestreet's upcoming tours.

If you go down to the woods today...

Well... maybe not the woods as you'd be hard pressed to find any woods in this part of central western Queensland. But you will find bears. Teddie bears that is, and lots of them. For this 'Caution - Teddies Crossing' sign can be found in the 'Outback Teddie Capital of Australia' - Tambo - the home of Tambo Teddies.

 
Born out of an incentive to create jobs in country towns and a two day brainstorming session, Teddies made from wool came into being. Two years of drought had seen wool prices bottom out and these teddies were seen as a great way to promote wool and the wool industry.

Tens of thousands of them have been sold since, bringing much needed income into the area. They can be found in homes all over the country and have travelled to the four corners of the globe.

Want to know more? Well you can find Tambo Teddies on the web here and more photos from our 'To The Centre and Back' tour from May 2010 here.

Insect Skyscrapers

In many parts of Australia colonies of these insect skyscrapers dominate the landscape. Termites mix together mud and their saliva to make a concrete like substance, enabling them to build mounds up to six metres in height. That's quite the insect engineering feat.

A single mound can take up to 50 years to get to this size, containing several million 'residents'.

Inside the mound there are indoor gardens, nurseries and the queen has her own special chamber. Similar to an iceberg, there's more below the surface than above. The networks of rooms and tunnels can extend up to 10 metres below ground level.

They even have their own efficient air conditioning system. The warm air rises and escapes out the surface holes and fresh air is drawn in and cooled in the underground chambers, before being directed into the main living areas.

More pictures of these and other marvels of nature can be found in our Cape York picture set.