Aug 27 ... Cloncurry

What a lovely country town this is and the area is bursting with history. The hottest day on record at 53.1 degrees Celsius was recorded here in 1889; the RFDS (Royal Flying Doctor Service) started here; QANTAS started here; Dame Mary Gilmore is buried here; and various explorers passed by here. Often in summer the temperature in Cloncurry is regularly in the forties so I am glad we are visiting in what is technically "Winter".
The town itself has beautiful wide streets and many old buildings with "tropical" architecture. The Courthouse was especially lovely. It was huge and each side was a mirror image of the other, all framed by a beautiful tropical garden.

The Courthouse - left side

Before leaving Mt Isa we did a quick shop for groceries and made sure we got the "good" petrol, then headed east.  Again there were lots of huge trucks on the road but they all drive reasonably and are never a problem.

Ore Truck

The drive to Cloncurry was beautiful as we passed through the Selwyn Ranges. The hills were green and this road is recognized for its natural beauty. 

 En route there were two memorials of importance. The first was to Burke and Wills who camped beside the Corella River on 22nd Jan 1861, and here there was a cairn recognizing their explorations. The second was to two Aboriginal groups of this area, the Kalkadoon and the Mitakoodi, who were the victims of white "justice" and who were basically annihilated in the 1880's.

Burke and Wills Memorial

Aboriginal Memorial

 














It was only just over a 100kms to Cloncurry so we arrived around 1pm and luckily, went straight to the John Flynn Museum as it closed at 3pm.
Both Garry and I have read the biography of the Rev. John Flynn and how he established the Royal Flying Doctors Service. It is a remarkable story and this museum told it very well. There was a lot of information, photos, a film, models and various artefacts of interest ... it was excellent.

Rev. John Flynn

The RFDS will only go to help people in isolated situations. In addition to their actual flights, they have on issue over 3000 medicine chests. In these are a variety of drugs and equipment and everything is numbered so if you contact the RFDS Doctor, he can then tell you to administer No. 5 etc. This must be so reassuring to people in the bush.

The emblem of the RFDS

The Station Medical Chest

The emblem of the RFDS represents three things - medicine, aviation and radio.


Afterwards we checked in to a lovely park and as the Jacksons were with us we chose two sites together. The park had nice views with shady trees and good facilities, but later that night we found out it was also very close to the railway and the shunting yards!

The men and their vans

Getting Organized

Following a very late lunch we went for a drive around town. Our first stop was the Mary Kathleen Park. "Mary Kathleen" had been one of the earliest and biggest uranium mines in Australia but it was closed in 1982 and the whole town and mine site were auctioned off ... absolutely everything was sold. A few of the older and more interesting pieces of machinery are now found in this park in Cloncurry.

Then we drove through and around town ending up at the cemetery but, unfortunately, we were unable to find the burial plot of Dame Mary Gilmore, whose ashes are interred in her husband's grave. From here we drove out to Chinaman's Dam, a lovely tranquil spot about 4kms from town.

Chinamans Dam

Edges of the dam

Following a late dinner, Garry and Andrew watched the final game of the Tri Nations Rugby Union with Aus winning 25 - 20. The Jackson's have a big decision to make now as to whether they will come with us to Normanton or turn for home. Whatever they decide, it has been great having their company as often as we have so far.