Days 12 and 13
Day 12
After leaving Longreach early in the morning, we headed to Winton. We arrived around lunch time and booked into a caravan park run by the North Gregory Hotel. It is $10 per night without power or water, but you are able to use their toilets and shower. They also have a laundry with washing machines at $3 a load and dryers at the same price.
Legend has it that the first public performance of Waltzing Matilda happened here at the North Gregory Hotel on the 6th April 1895.
When you first drive down the main street of Winton, you see these big dinosaur feet everywhere. On closer inspection, the bins are fitted inside these prints.
The boys were really interested in seeing the Dinosaur Stampede, but unfortunately they were closed for refurbishment, so we purchased a gold ticket from the Waltzing Matilda Centre which enabled us to the Waltzing Matilda Centre, the Corfield & Fitzmaurice Building, the Royal Open Air Theatre & Opal Walk, the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum.
The first attraction we went to was the Waltzing Matilda Centre. Out the front of the centre is a statue of Banjo Paterson and the music and words to one of his most famous poems.
Inside we watched a short movie in the Billabong Theatre which explained the meaning behind the words of Banjo Paterson’s poem. There was an interactive area where you could lift the lids on the cans and listen to some Australian bush yarns. The short hologram display was amazing and offered a lot of insight into the history of Australia. There were also some machinery and history displays that we strolled through on the way out.
Then it was off to the Cornfield and Fitzmaurice Building. This building was opened in 1878 serving as Winton’s first general store. Today it is home to a selection of handmade crafts and a mini museum. In the museum you will find dinosaur fossils and information about the history of the sheep industry in the area.
Finally we went on The Opal Walk and into the Open Air Theatre Museum.
This Open Air Theatre is home to the World’s Largest Deck Chair. The chair is not in a very good condition at the moment, but it is amazing to see. This theatre has a Nostalgia Night every Wednesday night from April to September.
Day 13
As we were parked near Arno’s Wall, we thought we would take a walk along it to see all the items sitting in the wall. This amazing wall is around 2 metres high and about 70 metres long. Constructed with concrete and rock, you can find all kinds of items like motorbikes, sewing machines and the kitchen sink in the wall.
Then we headed back to the Waltzing Matilda Centre. The lovely lady at the Reception gave us a pass out when we visited the day before as we arrived after the Poetry and Snake show and the boys really wanted to see the snakes. The boys were ecstatic that we were able to see the show and loved being able to hold a woma python.
Next we headed to the Australian Age of Dinosaurs.
First we went on a tour through the collection room and watched a couple of short videos. This was an amazing experience to see and hear the history of the finding of dinosaurs in the Winton area.
Next was the tour of the Laboratory. Here we were able to see how the digs worked and watch some volunteers preparing the dinosaur bones.
After visiting the Dinosaurs, we headed to the Musical Fence. This unbelievable attraction is a wire fence that can be played like a musical instrument. There are also many other instruments, such as drums, available for you to play as well. This was a great way for the boys to let off a bit of steam and make a very noisy racket at the same time!
There was only one older couple brave enough to visit while we were there, but they didn’t stay for long with the amount of noise that was coming for our boys.
This attraction was free, but it is hidden down a dirt track behind a machinery museum at the far end of town. We actually drove past it again on our way out of Winton.
Overall, we had an amazing day, one that the boys will remember for a very long time. They absolutely loved seeing the dinosaur fossils. I think that will be one of the highlights of this adventure!
Places of Interest: Winton
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