Day 3 - Rolleston to Barcaldine

Firstly there's an update to yesterday's blog - here's a pic of me and Peter at our break in Theodore. Peter is amongst other things the Patrol Minister for Frontier Services – Flinders Patrol based in  Hughenden.

Exchanging pastoral advice . . . . .

I'm now out of mobile phone range so no more updates for Dad to upload for a while (who knows when that will be). 

In the meantime here is what I'm expecting will happen and I'll come back to this (and the following pages) with tales of what actually happened later on.

Today we head off to Barcaldine.

Rolleston to Barcaldine via Nandowrie

I'm pretty sure that between Springsure and Bogantunganwe'll be riding via the Dawson Developmental Road then heading north along Glenlee Road and Willows Road through some big cattle stations.

As you can see from this map we'll also be passing the Willows Gemfields (part of Central Queensland Gemfields) - a popular place to fossick for sapphires (damn - forgot to pack the Willoughby)

Willows Gemfields

Area Map of the Central Queensland Gemfields

 As every loyal Australian unionist will know, Barcaldine is the town which was central to one of the more significant events in the political life of Australia: the shearers' strike of 1891, which played an important role in the events which led to the formation of the Australian Labor Party. The symbol of the strike is the 'Tree of Knowledge', located in Oak Street in front of the railway station. The tree was vandalised and poisoned in November, 2006. The dead tree was removed in July, 2007 and replaced by monument celebrating its significance in Australian political history. Striking shearers held their meetings under this 150-year-old ghost gum.

Tree of Knowledge

Memorial to the Tree of Knowledge

 Tomorrow we head off towards Winton.

Click on Archive (previous posts) to see reports from the previous days.

More to come.

T.