We’ve come along way since the security guard at the Art Gallery of NSW chased axo1000 & I out of the Chinese Pottery Army Men Exhibition. In fact this week, although attendance was compelled by their parents, axo1000 & BloggiE were spotted voluntarily looking at museum exhibits that didn’t even have computer screens attached!
And I for one learned so much social and political Australian history at 4 fabulous outback museums.
Barcaldine was the setting for the 1891 shearers strike against the pastoralists under the Eureka Flag – a significant step in the Australian Labour Movement (and birth of the Australian Labor Party). The Tree of Knowledge under which this event took place was mysteriously poisoned (Round Up!) in 2006, but undeterred, the city erected not only a monument to this event, but a fab museum.
Monument to Tree of Knowledge - trunk of the original tree, topped by an artists impression of the canopy.
It gives you an insight into work in the early 1900’s in Australia and has mock ups of a post office, school, parliament, train station and more. We followed a trail of clues for kids and all learned loads. A top excursion spot Gordon West!
Even transported back 100 years, our kids still behaved the same way in class!
Our new family rules - hope they work better than the current ones!
Off to Longreach, where we discovered a bike track from our campsite to the QANTAS Founder’s Museum. Love that. We checked out the original hangar, where they actually made their own planes on site. We also enjoyed investigating the old planes and taking a tour of the 747 200 with a guide who explained much more about it than we could ever have known.
Here it is - the 747 200. (Love that T-Shirt - thanks Abby!!)
Don't know what's more frightening - in the Jet Engine...
...or at the controls!
Also at Longreach was the Stockman’s Hall of Fame – details of life on stations, farms and the pressure on essential services in the outback. Happily there were “screens” where we watched information on plagues of rabbits, rodeo competitions, mustering cattle and flying doctors. Speaking of which… we decided that we would detour from our plan and visit Cloncurry, home of the Flying Doctors.
Cloncurry has been hot. Shorts and T-shirts at breakfast hot. The museum here is “John Flynn Place” – a small affair that charts the course of the Flying Doctor and the Australian Inland Mission from their inception. We took a special interest in it due to a family connection. Spike’s grandfather was a Padre who played an instrumental role in both organisations.
Outside John Flynn Place
Spike & Fred
After all those museums, time for a bush walk!!
A Tale of Ten Cities 
Must have been special to see Fred 🙂
Go on…
Do you like my “campfire Fred” pose ?
I Love love love the photo with the tree. You were also a topic at the book club last night!
Hey Will it’s Zac nice hat and how did you get on that jet engine?
any way goodbye I’ll talk to you later bye.
The hat, well you need to be in outback queensland ( Longreach) and the jet, I would like to say that I did a back flip into it when it was about to take off. But there was a flight of stairs and the plane was old and didn’t fly any more.
Luv hearing from ya.
Will
nice I’ve got a green hat like your’s and it has a brown strip around it.
Hey Will I’ve got a mod collection for Minecraft and I’ll try to send it to you and Lego club has arrived anyway bye.
Zac
Loving reading about it all. Nice pose Mike – you must have it in your genes! “There’s no doubt about you….” (Nice one too, Pete!)
I’d seen the story about that tree on landline – must have been awesome in real life. You’ve gotta love the various bunches of artists and ordinary people that make a statement about something like that in such a positive way. wish we were there but very glad to get hear all the stories.
So much better than school!
To Eleanor,
it looks like you having a great time there.
Which was the scariest, standing in the jet engine or sitting in the cockpit?
i miss you allot.
Thea
Hey Thea ,
Probably standing in the rolls Royce jet engine. You felt like it was going to start!!!!!
I miss you too.
From Ele