Our stay in Longreach stretches to three days as the turbo hose takes its time to arrive. We have roosters for company at the Apex Park. Evidently, locals, not wanting a second cock in the hen house tend to lose their new roosters near the waterhole so there is now quite a clutch of them living off camper’s crumbs.
We had seen beautiful brolgas enroute: but they were much more timid than our fearless cocks.
We have seen most of the sights of Longreach over the years but new attractions keep developing.
There is now a Cobb & Co coach ride through town offering tourists the chance to experience how folk travelled these parts over a hundred years ago. Though the roads are better. And some of the old local business stores have been turned into tourist venues marketing crafts, or offering morning teas of scones and cream followed by a relaxing stint in an old canvas seat watching old historic movies, like Smiley, There were nearly a hundred folk in the theatre the morning we visited the old store, so good numbers of tourists are turning up to participate. Many from the train and hotel package holiday bookings, too, it seems.
A fascinating stop at Ilfracombe is the family home of the Langenbacker's. Harry and Mary Ann Langenbaker lived in this home further east, but picked it up and moved it on as the railway moved west. Harry was a teamster, so he had the cart to carry the house which moved, like so many houses, and public buildings of the time, west to where the railhead brought trade. Mary Ann lived in her home until 1964, when one of the children, Bernard, continued to live on here, eventually dying here in 1991. The verandah lattice is particularly remarkable. It is made from the thin hoop iron straps which secured the wool bales which Harry carted. The wool went to the wool scour; the metal made a decorative lattice for Mary Ann's porch. Still in extraordinary condition today.
There is now a Cobb & Co coach ride through town offering tourists the chance to experience how folk travelled these parts over a hundred years ago. Though the roads are better. And some of the old local business stores have been turned into tourist venues marketing crafts, or offering morning teas of scones and cream followed by a relaxing stint in an old canvas seat watching old historic movies, like Smiley, There were nearly a hundred folk in the theatre the morning we visited the old store, so good numbers of tourists are turning up to participate. Many from the train and hotel package holiday bookings, too, it seems.
Finally, our lovely mechanic phones; he is in town with our hose and fixes our problem right where we park our car in just minutes — a few little clamps and a replacement hose. Had we thought to carry one of these with us we might have saved ourselves three days and four hundred dollars. But it did not occur to us. We also learn that there are two other potential hoses that we should keep an eye on under our bonnet, so we are a little more prepared, now, than when we set out.
Off we go, again, delighted to be on the move.
The country is so dry heading north west though we understand it is better than last year. Mile after mile of endless brown grass stretches to the horizon. Then we see a cluster of sheep around a shaded waterhole — the first sign of life for ages. One or two wander a few hundred metres away nibbling the roots of brown tufts, but they tend to stick close to the water and shade, just like humans.
The tussocky grass on the road verges becomes fascinating when you are driving along hour upon hour. Nature is, it seems, as precise as a minimalist gardener. These tufts naturally grow in very ordered and offset parallel lines, looking as if they have been planted by a designer landscaper, each tuft in a precisely measured space.
Cropped. Ordered. Beautiful.
A fascinating stop at Ilfracombe is the family home of the Langenbacker's. Harry and Mary Ann Langenbaker lived in this home further east, but picked it up and moved it on as the railway moved west. Harry was a teamster, so he had the cart to carry the house which moved, like so many houses, and public buildings of the time, west to where the railhead brought trade. Mary Ann lived in her home until 1964, when one of the children, Bernard, continued to live on here, eventually dying here in 1991. The verandah lattice is particularly remarkable. It is made from the thin hoop iron straps which secured the wool bales which Harry carted. The wool went to the wool scour; the metal made a decorative lattice for Mary Ann's porch. Still in extraordinary condition today.
Around Longreach we came across our first bit of obvious politicking from the paddocks.
Here, a truck decked out with a torn half of an Aussie flag, and the once-iconic and once-Australian-owned XXXX label, on th back of the truck -- thought now owned by the Japanese.
A little foreign ownership resentment is evident around Longreach, mayhap.
Here, also, was our first sighting of a Dingo corpse hanging from the Dingo Creek sign. Again, a bitter denunciation of government ineffectiveness developing effective policies and practices to control the dogs that are destroying the sheep industry in these parts.
The locals appear to believe they will have more effect, and make more of a statement, by hanging the dingo corpse than collecting the pelt bounty.
A double whammy with this shot.
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