In November, 2022 two fellow members of the St Swithun’s Church congregation and myself decided to hire an aircraft to fly over what was then an inland sea following heavy rain, as much of northern NSW’s was under water.
Earlier this year I suggested to the same two that we should go for a drive through the outback, mainly to visit Birdsville and do a fly from there over the Diamentina River, Goyder’s Lagoon, the Warburton River and Lake Eyre. I cheekily suggested to Rob Cartwright that his Land Cruiser would be a more suitable vehicle than my BMW X5. They were both enthusiastic and after much planning/discussion we plotted a route, made pre motel bookings and accepted very welcome invitations to stay with friends on the way. The three of us are widowers each having lost our wives in the last five years. Our average age exceeds 80 years!
May 21 – Berembed Station
I enjoyed telling enquirers that we were heading for Birdsville via Wagga! This usually evoked an exclamation that this was the wrong direction! But, there was method in the madness. My interest in our inland rivers attracted the appeal of beginning on the mighty Murrumbidgee before going across the Lachlan, down the Willandra Creek and then across the Darling to Broken Hill.
This appeal was further increased by invitations to stay at the famous old Berembed Station with former Clyde Agriculture managers Tony and Michelle McManus. Berembed is where the weir and main channel divert water from the Murrumbidgee to the MIA (Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area).
May 22 – Mt View, Hillston
Then, with long-time friends Peter and Annie Laird at Mt View, Hillston, on the bank of the Willandra Creek, a significant water course that flows west from the Lachlan towards Mossgiel and beyond.
The McManus’s and Laird’s were wonderful hosts. They made us very welcome and took us on inspections of their respective stations. I had been at Berembed a bit over a year ago, but had not been at Mt View for many years. Berembed has a grand old home and garden and some beautiful soils and great trees on the flood plain. They run a top quality herd of Angus cows.
Mt View has been extended (78,000 acres) west towards Trida and has over 2,000 acres of laid-out irrigation fields. The latter are supported by access to quality ground water suitable for irrigation and the Creek. They also run a large Dorper ewe flock. This is a very impressive family enterprise.
We developed a pattern of making early starts, particularly when the planned route required long distance driving, giving us more time at our daily destinations.
As we went thru’ Griffith we viewed the little grave stone, which I had not previously seen, which marked the burial place of the baby girl Gail and I lost after a difficult birth in 1968.
Hillston, where Gail and I lived in the late 1960’s, has grown with all the irrigation/horticulture development. Noted big almond orchards as we passed Merowie.
May 23 – Broken Hill
On departing Mt View we abandoned plans to drive alongside the railway line to Ivanhoe and went south across the Willandra National Park to the Hillston/Mossgiel road. A lovely drive thru’ country in great heart and nostalgic for me to drive past Mossgiel Station where my parents met in the 1930’s. Ivanhoe, where I was based with Dalgety for around 18 months in 1961/2 was rather sad, with the big old store, Crisp and Halley, closed. We were advised not to take the road across to Menindee via Darnick, following recent rain, but to stick to the bitumen and go to Broken Hill via Wilcannia. I had forgotten how much the country changes once you pass Ivanhoe compared with the more open land out towards Mossgiel. Once again Wilcannia impresses with so many old historic stone buildings dating back to the Darling River boat trade days.
I was amused at the electric vehicle charging facilities. I don’t believe current electric vehicles would have the range to get to Wilcannia from any of its neighbouring towns!
At Broken Hill, after being spoiled by our hosts on the first two nights we had our first taste of motel accommodation and an enjoyable dinner at a well known local hotel and the first of our regular daily bottles of red.
May 24 – Tibooburra
The long drive on a bitumen road through Milparinka to Tibooburra was all new to me and I was surprised at the extent of open grass country. Rob Cartwright began what became a feature of our trip, reporting to us on his overnight reading of the travels of explorer Charles Sturt through this country.
A Tibooburra we did a pub crawl (2 pubs) and had our first encounter with young backpackers working in outback employment to extend their visas for their Australian stays. Great to see them seeing the real Australia.
May 25 – Innamincka
From Tibooburra we headed west to Cameron Corner, the roads to the north being closed from the recent rain. This was a good gravel road tending to sand dunes as we approached the Corner.
From Cameron Corner where we entered South Australia, we headed further west, a long drive across to the Strzelecki Track.
This was the most challenging road we encountered and we were in the very capable driving hands of Rob Cartwright. The sand dunes in this desert country all run North/South and we were heading West. Up and down like a yo/yo, on a single track and quite blind at the peaks with numerous signs warning of the danger of head-on collisions. After the recent rain there was little dust to warn of oncoming traffic. In addition there were many wash-outs just over the peaks requiring fast evasive action. We made it safely to the Strzelecki which at the junction is a wide two lane bitumen road! As we turned north the sealed road lasts until the Moomba Gas Field.
At Innamincka we booked into our home-stay style accommodation. Very obliging,but tiny rooms! We bought a six-pack at the only hotel and found a delightful spot at a river crossing (ford) over the steadily flowing Cooper Creek.
May 26 – Birdsville
Cooper Creek commences many miles upstream just above Windorah where the Barcoo and Thompson Rivers join. Two Rivers form a Creek! It then joins Lake Eyre on the Lake’s eastern side but local information is that it won’t reach the Lake from the current flow.
We did the short deviation to the famous well presented Burke and Wills ‘Dig Tree.
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The long drive via Nappa Merrie and Arrabury to the Windorah/Birdsville Road thence on to Birdsville, suggested it might be a long time before our next feed. Our host agreed to make us some sandwiches-$8 each!
The country between Innamincka and Birdsville is very variable and dictates the quality of the road-generally a good gravel or sand track. We were advised not to go via the Cordillo Downs road. Appealing channel county around Nappa Merrie then my idea of typical desert country-spinifex and stunted timber -as you drive ever further north. Then more softer channels and water as you approach Birdsville on the Diamantina.
We booked in to the familiar motel style accommodation and after a few beers were joined by David Brook for dinner at the Hotel. I am greatly attracted by Birdsville particularly by a friendship with David and Nell Brook. They graze 8.0M acres and run what we were later told is the largest Hereford herd in the world!
Their cattle operation is the production, with a group of other local graziers, of organic beef. They retain ownership of the cattle and sell the beef at a substantial premium after slaughter at the Stanbroke abattoir in the Lockyer Valley west of Brisbane. Main organic beef market is in the US.
Next morning at sunrise we boarded our Birdsville Aviation (they also now own the hotel) for a five hour charter flight in a six seater Cessna 210 for a flight over the Big Red sand dune, Goyder’s Lagoon, the Warburton River and Groove which flows into Lake Eyre.
(Click photos to enlarge)
We flew deep into the lake-most of the water is in the south-and across to the William Creek village. Our pilot was well informed and a good communicator. This flight was the central part and driver of our trip. For me the sheer vastness of Goyder’s Lagoon is the main attraction. Bird life, mainly pelicans, was a feature.
After lunch back in Birdsville we joined David and Nell Brook for afternoon tea- a most enjoyable interlude. Nell has not been enjoying good health, but was her usual bright self.
May 28 – Boulia
From Birdsville next day we headed for Boulia. Again very open grass country well west of the Diamantina channels. We needed to do a detour around Lake Machattie, passed the turn off to Cluny and drove through some lovely growth on flooded country (Eyre Creek), then on to Bedourie and Boulia.
I will always remember Boulia, a well presented town where we had excellent motel accommodation, for quite unrelated reasons. Let me explain. I have recently self-published my memoirs-Pastoral Pursuits. Two days after we left Sydney “The Land” newspaper published a full page, very kind review of the book by my friend and former Editor Peter Austin, and orders started to flow. On re-connecting to the internet in Boulia I found an even kinder review by another journalist friend, Trevor Johnston in his Cotton Wire, which I couldn’t resist reading to my colleagues. By then they were probably getting sick and tired of the subject!
In the Boulia “servo” the back-packer behind the counter was a girl from Taiwan. Her face lit up when Rob Cartwright was able to tell her that he had lived in Taipei for three years. A youngster in what can probably be argued as the most outback remote town in Australia, meeting someone who had actually lived in her homeland was clearly a great thrill.
May 29 – Winton
At Boulia we turned east for the 360km drive to Winton, crossing the Diamantina some 50km short of Winton. Once again I was surprised by the extent of open plains country including Lucknow Station where my boss, when I was a young jackaroo at “Caledonia”, Aramac grew up and often spoke about. At Winton we booked into our rather grand motel, toured the very well presented Waltzing Matilda Centre and heard Gregory North do his Banjo Paterson thing at the North Gregory Hotel -surely not a coincidental name. We dined at the North Gregory, with the longest verandah.
On our second day at Winton we did the long drive out to the “Dinosaur Stampede National Monument” at Lake Quarry. This is said to be the site of the world’s only known record of a dinosaur stampede, with fossilised footprints interpreted as a predator stalking and causing a stampede of around 150 two-legged dinosaurs, 95 million years ago! Very well preserved under a huge covering building. In the afternoon we visited the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum at the jump-up, a few miles out of Winton on the Longreach road. This was familiar to me as being the site for the wonderful Queensland Outback Opera concert I attended in May, 2022. I found the main presentation a “shocker”by a presenter so lacking in authenticity that it made one’s flesh creep! I take my hat off to the founders who showed so much initiative in choosing such a great site to keep locally the numerous dinosaur relics and created a serious paleontology museum and fossil cleaning centre. We again attended the Greg North presentation, this time on Paterson’s life. We misjudged the time and missed most of it. We discovered that North lived in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney and Rob Clarke suggested that one or more of our respective Sydney clubs might be interested in hearing him exhibit his knowledge and poetry reading skills. A very good idea we intend to pursue.
May 31 – Longreach
Next day the familiar drive through well grassed, mitchell grass country to Longreach was as usual appealing, but drying off and not as green and lush as in 2022. At Longreach, the town was its usual busy self and we did the tourist thing at the Stockman’s Hall of Fame and across the road at the Qantas Pioneer’s Museum. Both lived up to their high reputations.
June 1 – Roma
It was quite a long drive (again) to Roma. We took a back road from Ilfracombe through the familiar country including Portland Downs to Isisford and then across to Blackhall. I was shocked at the denuded look of the country and the number of goats running on what appeared to be Isis Downs.
At Blackhall we made a fleeting visit to the Wool Scour, had lunch on the Warrego at Augathella, and drove through ever improving country with so much more cropping, after passing through Morven and Mitchell.
At Roma we checked in with my old Dalgety bull buying adviser Charles Weyman-Jones at the smart Overlander Homestead Motel owned and operated by Charles and his wife Amanda who we subsequently had dinner with in the impressive restaurant. Charles seemed a different personality to the one I knew so long ago and kept us entertained on a whole range of subjects. Amanda has a long history of Multiple Sclerosis (MS), including having stem cell replacement therapy in Moscow. She has a very positive and appealing personality and is positive about her health prospects following the Russian treatment.
June 2 – Tenterfield
We were all keen to see the real Darling Downs and avoid the usual main roads down to Warwick. From Dalby we turned south, noted both cotton gins and via a number of minor, flat, mostly sealed roads found our way via Cecil Plains and Brookstead to Warwick. This was a great look at this rich black soil, no fences and lots of crops, particularly cotton.
We called on my (and Gail’s) close friends Peter and Maree Savage in Warwick before spending a comfortable night in Tenterfield. Found a surprisingly good dining room in one of the hotels.
June 3 – Walcha
Thence via the compulsory Glen Innes Strawberry Farm- coffee with hot scones, strawberry jam and cream; through Guyra, and Armidale (by-pass) to Walcha. Light lunch at Cafe Graze including two book deliveries and into the “pastoral heaven” of the St. Leonards Creek valley, 40kms south of Walcha to “Sallywood” at the head of the valley.
The Young family with which we Boyds have enjoyed a close friendship over several generations, have now acquired most of the valley country and most recently bought “Lakeside” joining their existing holding of “Cloverdale”. After the usual warm welcome (and introductions) Jim and Jules took us for a visit to the new place “Lakeside” which for a short period was owned by Clyde and it brought back very warm memories. It lived right up to my expectations.
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Back to “Sallywood” for the night. Lovely roast lamb and good conversation for dinner!
On Day 2 at “Sallywood” Jim had not been feeling well and his son Dicko was deputised to accompany Jules and the “three amigos” to their other aggregation towards the village of Niangala. This country is of the same beautiful basalt soil as the “valley” with equal (or slightly higher) average rainfall. Ever more productive with improved cultivars and establishing technique.
(Click photos to enlarge)
June 5 – Sydney
So, we return home down the mountain (Thunderbolt’s Way) via Nowendoc, Gloucester and Bucketts Way. Tired, but very satisfied and stimulated from all that we saw. Traversed just over 6,000 Kms
Postscript: Jim Young’s ill health proved to be Covid. On returning home only Rob Cartwright tested positive – both have since fully recovered.
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