We reached Barcaldine eager to see the much-anticipated Tree of Knowledge. We were both familiar and had seen the site of the Eureka Stockade in the Goldfields of Ballarat, but had little knowledge about the Shearer’s Strike in Barcaldine in 1891. The strike for justice and unity in defiance lead to the development of the labour union movement and the formation of the Australian Labour Party.
The Tree of Knowledge was a 200-year-old Eucalyptus Ghost
Gum that bore witness to the struggle between shearer’s and pastoralists’ over
wages and working conditions. The tree was poisoned and killed in 2006 so the
trunk of the tree has now been preserved and an 18 metre-high timber monument, comprising
hanging timber batons representing shearers blades, has been erected to mark
the heritage site. It was quite impressive.
We arrived in Longreach mid afternoon and checked into the
Muddy Duck Caravan Park. Home for the next three nights. The park is new and is
located just outside of the town and along the banks of the very muddy Thompson
River. Low and behold we pulled in next to our last neighbours in Carnarvon Gorge, Brian and Penny from Canberra – a very pleasant surprise.
Day one in Longreach and we headed for the infamous Australian
Stockman’s Hall of Fame (while the Landcruiser went in for a general service
and check) . This tourist attraction is a fabulous tribute to stockman, our
pastoral heritage and the Aussie outback. The attraction involved an intro
movie, a live show with stockman, horses, sheep and kelpie dogs and a great
interactive museum with accompanying iPod and interactive App which relayed
stories of the past related to the exhibits. We thoroughly enjoyed it.
We finished another great day with a lovely dinner in town with Brian and Penny.
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