Waltzing Matilda Mateship Myth, Winton Outback Queensland, Thursday 19 July 2012

Yesterday afternoon Dave and I paid $18 each (Seniors Concession) to go to the "Matilda Museum" in the main street of Winton. It was full of interesting "pioneer" memorabilia. They do tend to go on and on about Banjo Patterson writing "Waltzing Matilda" in this town; a cheery little song about stealing a sheep, and a body in a billabong. I got a bit het up inside myself seeing a hologram show about wonderful Australian "mateship"; where was "mateship" shown to Aborigines when white settlers arrived, or what "mateship" was shown to thousands of Chinese who came to the Australian goldfields in the 1860s? Oh well, as they say, history is written by the winners!

A tour operator told me yesterday that there were actually licences issued by the government of the day in the late 1880s in Queensland, giving local pastoralists and police the "right" to shoot Aboriginal people dead like vermin! Today the white locals around here are bitter about pending Aboriginal land claims in central outback Queensland. Aboriginal people from here are now based at Charters Towers, I've been told, after a few survivors were forcibly driven off tribal country.

Today we paid $75 each for a 220km round trip on dirt roads to see a special Dinosaur place which has a "dinosaur stampede" recorded in mud as fossils. We learned how palaeontologists have been uncovering fossil footsteps and how a specially designed building has now been constructed around and over these footsteps, to prevent the effects of weathering away. There are prints of 3 sizes of these ancient beasts; tiny chook sized prints, others the size of a large dog, and the big prints of a huge meat eating predator dinosaur, on its own. Looking down at the big heavy impressions in the dried mud, I could really imagine a lumbering hungry dinosaur right in front of me!

The countyside around the dinosaur fossil areas is so beautiful; it feels like you are looking at a huge postcard painting, with bright red soil, different shades of green plants, spinifex clumps looking like they have been dabbed on the scenery by a giant artist, and rocky weathered red outcrops. It's very like the Pilbara here. We saw brolgas, small kangaroos (wallaroos), emus, and some large hawks.

We've decided to stay at the disgustingly dirty "Pelican Caravan Park" for a couple of extra days, because we are looking forward to going to the Winton Camel Races on Saturday. Accommodation in town is booked out, but caravans rolling into the Pelican Park are leaving after an overnight stay, with people saying it's too dirty to stay. And they leave Winton district with their tourist dollars; this is bad for tourism here! Being an Intrepid soul, today I'm going to Google the Queensland Health Service, then go up the main street of Winton to pay a little visit to the local Council office and ask to speak to someone in charge of the Public Health section here. Why should a dishevelled-looking caravan park operator be allowed to run such a dirty place, ignoring health requirements? I was gagging this morning when I went to have a shower; I had to get paper to pick up congealed hairs in the shower.Yuk! The last straw! I guess the only good thing I can say is that this caravan park builds up your natural immunity!