By now we were becoming old hands. No longer did we merely plan a route and the timings and assume we could take off when we chose to reach any given destination.
Now that we had arrived in Mitchell, our first job was to determine if and when we could move on to St George. This would obviously determine the need to extend our stay or otherwise. Shortly after our arrival we determined that the road which runs directly from Mitchell to St George was cut in two places, one of which was likely to be long term. In any event we had also been told by a fellow traveller who had recently come that way, that in this weather with the narrow bitumen and the shoulders saturated, sloppy and slippery, he would give this choice but one thought.....don't! Thanks and point taken. Scratch one Mitchell - St George option.
Another lesson we had learnt over the past few weeks was to always have an alternative route up our sleeves whenever possible. In the current situation this meant travelling east from Mitchell to Roma and thence south along the Carnarvon Highway to St George. There was only one snag.....mid way our route would take us through the small town of Surat, and you guessed it, at the moment the Balonne River which crosses the Carnarvon just north of the town, was misbehaving. We had already discounted the other remaining option of travelling further east, through Roma to the coast, so that left us with no choice but to sit it out. But for how long?
From what we could glean from all our newly discovered sources of official information, we calculated that the highway should be open within three days of our arrival in Mitchell....so our planned sojourn here was unexpectedly extended by a day longer than we had originally opted for.
But there's always an upside. This would give us plenty of time to have a very good look around a town through which we had previously driven but never stayed.
Before we head off down the main street, I'll begin with a tour of our park. The Major Mitchell Caravan Park stands high on a hill directly above the eastern bank of the Maranoa River.
It is quite a large park, and as you could see from my previous, all the roadways are sealed, and here the vast majority of the sites are en suite, with many of these sites shielded by good hedges and shrubs.
We had no need for this type of facility. For us the convenience of a drive-thru site was more important, although we were a little surprised to find that our patch was very narrow and was bordered by a 'gravel garden'. As it transpired, we had no need to be sitting outside, nor did the weather conditions demand the use of our awning for shade.
This is probably just as well....pegging the tie down straps into the dolomite would have presented something of a challenge....I had enough trouble excavating the hole for the front legs.
For those wanting grass, there are a few sites on the top of the rise which do provide that option.
Our site was conveniently close to the ablutions block, a transportable building of some size. I was a little put off initially, but this is another park where all the heads are self contained. The showers were adequate and we had no complaints about what we found here.
The camp kitchen was also nearby, and this is a ripper.
With several BBQ plates and more than adequate alternative cooking and washing up facilities, all stainless steel, the only thing this park amity lacked was some form of protection from the weather. I realise that blinds or pull down clears are costly and subject to abuse by moron campers, but it is no fun trying to cook with an icy blast ripping through the open walls.
Outdoor conviviality is encouraged here at the Major Mitchell. This large fire pit was lit on the first late afternoon of our stay, but we were far too tired to even contemplate being social. Sadly, beyond our first night, the weather put paid to any thought of a repeat blaze.
Despite the rather odd lack of any real outdoor sitting area at our site, another advantage of where we had been put (apart from the proximity of the heads and the camp kitchen) was the fact that we were but a stone's throw from the pathway to the river bridge which took us into town. Shelter sheds, such as shown here, were also to be found dotted throughout the park. These are a very good idea, and provide a facility for folk to get together over a happy hour tipple.
Finally, the park mascots. I had noticed what appeared to be a small aviary next to the park office. Indeed it is and sure enough.....here I found two beautiful Major Mitchell cockatoos huddled together on their perch. I was disappointed that no amount of cajoling could encourage these two to raise their crests. That is a sight indeed!
I cannot leave out quick tour of the park without commenting on the mobile home of one of our neighbours. Now this is something the like of which we had never seen before, a converted shipping container with a drop down side and canvas weather protection. Talk about innovation. From the sneak peek we managed on one occasion, the interior facilities looked spacious and comfortable. The only real drawback we noted was the fact that access to and from was via a ladder, and a narrow, steep one at that.....not ideal after a night at the pub!
Well, now that we have done the rounds of the park, it's time to take a look at the town. Mitchell is like many other Queensland towns which host a major highway as their main street. Here, the Warrego Highway becomes Cambridge Street as it traverses the ribbon cluster of the town's CBD.
We began our town toddle at its eastern end as we crossed the muddy Maranoa River, here seen in reverse angle looking back towards the caravan park.
From the vantage point of the bridge, we could see the railway bridge which crosses the river upstream of the highway.
Looking downstream along the heavily wooded banks of this significant river, which eventually empties into the Balonne River just north of St George, it was easy to see the effect of the recent heavy rains throughout its catchment.
The speed of the flow of the muddy brown waters was creating swirls, eddies and small standing waves which reminded us both a great deal of what we had seen when the tide came in at Derby.
The Maranoa rises on the Conseula Tableland in the Carnarvon Gorge National Park, well to the north of Mitchell. Along its 500 kms course, over 30 tributaries flow into the main stream. This part of Queensland is indeed a land of abundant rivers, streams and creeks, something about which we had become only too well aware over the past few weeks. The Maranoa ends its individual journey when it empties into the Balonne River just north of St George and is one of the many rivers which form part of the Murray-Darling catchment (the waters of the Maranoa eventually end up in the Darling....I won't bore you with the rather convoluted route by which this is achieved!)
By way of contrast to what we were now seeing as we gazed down on the rush of liquid chocolate water below us, this is a photo of the same river when not in full spate. What a difference the rains make!
Given our recent experience, we had no difficulty understanding that there have been many occasions in the past when this river has bared its muddy teeth with disastrous results for the inhabitants of Mitchell. This photo, which can be found on a black granite plaque at the eastern end of the road bridge, shows what happened to the town during the height of the 2011 flood,
when the river showed complete contempt for the bridges and flowed right over them.
The Maranoa floods (to a much lesser extent) regularly. Indeed Mitchell's very location is a direct result of such an event. The area was first explored by the NSW Surveyor-General and explorer Thomas Mitchell (after whom the town is named) in 1846. Eight years later, one Edmund Morey took up occupation of a large pastoral run in the area, Mitchell Downs, but unfortunately the property homestead soon fell victim to the waters of the merciless Maranoa. The remnants of the building were salvaged and were used to establish the Maranoa Hotel, where, true to good old Aussie form, a town soon grew up around it. Mitchell was born.
By the turn of the century Mitchell was the hub of a thriving pastoral district. With a population of just over 500, the town boasted five pubs, five general stores, a saddlery, a chemist, two saw mills, two butchers and even an aerated water factory. As well as the established and thriving grazing industry, there was much enthusiasm at this time for the introduction of various crops. Vines, vegetables, millet and cotton were all mooted, but this was a short lived venture. Rainfall here is limited, and although the town's water supply is assured by tapping into the artesian supplies which lie beneath the town, general cropping did not take off.
Large pastoral properties continue to surround Mitchell but its population, which reached a peak of just under 2,000 in the early 1960's, has been in steady decline since, due in the main to rural amalgamations and the development of significantly better urban facilities in the not too distant major town of Roma.
So what can we find in today's Mitchell. We set off over the bridge along Cambridge Street to find out, but not before taking a quick detour left along the first side street, where we found the local Police Station
and the town Post Office. This street is also home to one of the four pubs in Mitchell, the Court House, but I'll have more to say about them later.
Back onto the main drag where we next came to one of the major tourist attractions in Mitchell....the artesian pools, nestled between the Memorial swimming pool and the town information centre and hall buildings.
Surrounded by these quite picturesque stained glass walls,
water in the two open air pools comes directly from the Great Artesian Basin. The pond into which the bore head flows is pretty warm. In the other, the temperature has been thoughtfully reduced to cater for those who have difficulty being immersed in a fluid in the high 30's - low 40's.
Whilst these pools do not necessarily attract visitors to the town per se, they provide a significant reason for many to prolong what night otherwise be an overnight stay, with obvious benefits for the rest of the town. What did surprise us a little was the degree to which the locals make use of this facility.....on our observations this is the 'town meeting place' where those who live here can leave cleansed in body and replete with the latest town gossip.
We remain utterly ambivalent about the therapeutic benefits attributed to these artesian ponds, a view which was cemented during our ten day stay in Moree. And at $8 a pop for a soak, we opted for a hot shower in the park.
The Mitchell Memorial swimming complex, which adjoins the hot pools, is just that...'Memorial', that is. This is one of two beautifully presented tributes to those who served which stand guard at the entrance (you can just see the road bridge in the distance).
Opposite the swimming centre, the Mitchell 'firies' stand ready to launch into action from this rather quaint looking station
whilst the side street on the other side of the road is home to one of Mitchell's three museums, which we were later told was of some interest (we remain a little over rural museums).
Now for a bit of a 'pot pourri' of the Mitchell shopping precinct which stretched westwards along both sides of Cambridge Street from this point (excluding the pubs), beginning with one of the many bottle trees to be seen in the town, just as we had previously found in Roma and other nearby towns.
If nothing else, Cambridge Street is home to several examples of rather eclectic street art. These pink (red?) roos are but one.
The needs of both the inner and outer man are catered for in this section of the street where the admirable Mitchell cafe rubs shoulders with the large and surprisingly well stocked clothing (and much more) store lurking behind its striped bull nosed verandah.
Every country town worth its salt can boast an excellent bakery, and Mitchell is no exception.
We cannot attest to the quality of viands on offer at the adjoining butchers, but our one purchase from the home of the Mitchell pastries et al, and the numbers who were constantly coming and going clutching their brown paper bags of goodies, or occupying the interior and exterior tables for a 'sit-down' nosh, all bore testament to the expertise of the local bakers.
Mitchell's CBD presents an interesting variety of architectural styles if nothing else. The old picture theatre is now home to the local library and art gallery.
Beyond this rather bland yellow brick building we come to a row of equally nondescript looking shops,
(where at least one proprietor is determined to stand out from the commercial herd)
and this rather grand, but now deserted guest house, stands like a decaying dowager, still bearing some signs of its former glory whilst steadily and inevitably succumbing to the relentless ravages of time and weather.
In complete contrast are the brightly painted and well maintained buildings which house the Mitchell CWA and the local vet.
Here, at the western end of Cambridge Street, we found another two completely contrasting buildings. Behind the impressive height of this old windmill and the bulk of the forecourt pergola
is the old town Courthouse Building, a surprisingly small structure, but one which has been lovingly restored and maintained, and which now acts as, yes, you guessed it, another town museum.
The keys to access this quaint little building are available from its neighbour, the modern offices of the Maranoa Regional Council, a structure of a completely different style and age.
By now we had almost reached the western end of the main drag, where Cambridge Street again became the Warrego Highway as it made it way out of town.
Here we came across the local school,
and directly opposite, the Mitchell Memorial Park.
As we wandered down the short avenue leading to the memorial plinth, we reflected on the fact that the good folk of Mitchell did not shirk their public duty when it came to remembering and honouring their compatriots who had volunteered for service in all the conflicts in which this country has been involved.
A nearby park and playground is also home two rather impressive reminders of the bygone era when steam was king,
whilst the wards of the Mitchell hospital are housed in one of the town's few modern buildings adjacent to the dry land gardens of this side of the Memorial Park.
As we were reversed course and made our way back to the CBD, we were presented with a stark reminder of the fact that we were in a bush town.
Folk on horseback....fine, but clip-clopping along the footpath?
And he was not alone! At least the main pack only trod the pavement to access a side street. Fortunately the steeds on which this group was mounted had not felt the need to decorate the footpath with a hindquarters calling card as they progressed. That would have been a step (or sidestep) too far in rural living! Now in the foreground of this shot you will see an odd looking little lamp post.
This quaint design is a feature of all the posts along Cambridge Street, whether working (as this one is) or not.
Equally distinctive are the street bins. I was not able to discover what this style represents, but whatever it is, it is different.
In addition to the light poles and the bins, we noted two other inescapable features of the main street of Mitchell. I've already mentioned the street art, which can be found on the roadside (the kangaroos)
on shop windows,
on walls,
and embedded into the pavement itself where here we see a section of the curved lines of the Maranoa wending its way past two of the local bird species, the red tailed black cockatoo (we did actually see some of these nearby to our great delight).
The other stand out feature (or should that be the sit down feature) of this part of Mitchell is the public seating. It comes in all shapes and styles...plain flat benches,
reminders of the cogs and chains of machinery,
taking advantage of the shade of the bottle trees
(more than once)
and, just for something completely different, looking for all the world like a row of 'pop-art' toadstools which had sprung to life out of the pavement.
It's the old story....linger a while and be surprised. We find it where ever we roam.
I know, what about the pubs? Are there still five? What do they offer? I've not forgotten. In my next we'll visit the pubs, take a look at the nearby free camp at the Neil Turner weir where some of the occupants clearly fall into the class of campers who are the bane of park owner's lives, and enjoy one last social fling in Mitchell with the 'Tambo party pets'.
It is quite a large park, and as you could see from my previous, all the roadways are sealed, and here the vast majority of the sites are en suite, with many of these sites shielded by good hedges and shrubs.
We had no need for this type of facility. For us the convenience of a drive-thru site was more important, although we were a little surprised to find that our patch was very narrow and was bordered by a 'gravel garden'. As it transpired, we had no need to be sitting outside, nor did the weather conditions demand the use of our awning for shade.
This is probably just as well....pegging the tie down straps into the dolomite would have presented something of a challenge....I had enough trouble excavating the hole for the front legs.
For those wanting grass, there are a few sites on the top of the rise which do provide that option.
Our site was conveniently close to the ablutions block, a transportable building of some size. I was a little put off initially, but this is another park where all the heads are self contained. The showers were adequate and we had no complaints about what we found here.
The camp kitchen was also nearby, and this is a ripper.
With several BBQ plates and more than adequate alternative cooking and washing up facilities, all stainless steel, the only thing this park amity lacked was some form of protection from the weather. I realise that blinds or pull down clears are costly and subject to abuse by moron campers, but it is no fun trying to cook with an icy blast ripping through the open walls.
Outdoor conviviality is encouraged here at the Major Mitchell. This large fire pit was lit on the first late afternoon of our stay, but we were far too tired to even contemplate being social. Sadly, beyond our first night, the weather put paid to any thought of a repeat blaze.
Despite the rather odd lack of any real outdoor sitting area at our site, another advantage of where we had been put (apart from the proximity of the heads and the camp kitchen) was the fact that we were but a stone's throw from the pathway to the river bridge which took us into town. Shelter sheds, such as shown here, were also to be found dotted throughout the park. These are a very good idea, and provide a facility for folk to get together over a happy hour tipple.
Finally, the park mascots. I had noticed what appeared to be a small aviary next to the park office. Indeed it is and sure enough.....here I found two beautiful Major Mitchell cockatoos huddled together on their perch. I was disappointed that no amount of cajoling could encourage these two to raise their crests. That is a sight indeed!
I cannot leave out quick tour of the park without commenting on the mobile home of one of our neighbours. Now this is something the like of which we had never seen before, a converted shipping container with a drop down side and canvas weather protection. Talk about innovation. From the sneak peek we managed on one occasion, the interior facilities looked spacious and comfortable. The only real drawback we noted was the fact that access to and from was via a ladder, and a narrow, steep one at that.....not ideal after a night at the pub!
Well, now that we have done the rounds of the park, it's time to take a look at the town. Mitchell is like many other Queensland towns which host a major highway as their main street. Here, the Warrego Highway becomes Cambridge Street as it traverses the ribbon cluster of the town's CBD.
We began our town toddle at its eastern end as we crossed the muddy Maranoa River, here seen in reverse angle looking back towards the caravan park.
From the vantage point of the bridge, we could see the railway bridge which crosses the river upstream of the highway.
Looking downstream along the heavily wooded banks of this significant river, which eventually empties into the Balonne River just north of St George, it was easy to see the effect of the recent heavy rains throughout its catchment.
The speed of the flow of the muddy brown waters was creating swirls, eddies and small standing waves which reminded us both a great deal of what we had seen when the tide came in at Derby.
The Maranoa rises on the Conseula Tableland in the Carnarvon Gorge National Park, well to the north of Mitchell. Along its 500 kms course, over 30 tributaries flow into the main stream. This part of Queensland is indeed a land of abundant rivers, streams and creeks, something about which we had become only too well aware over the past few weeks. The Maranoa ends its individual journey when it empties into the Balonne River just north of St George and is one of the many rivers which form part of the Murray-Darling catchment (the waters of the Maranoa eventually end up in the Darling....I won't bore you with the rather convoluted route by which this is achieved!)
By way of contrast to what we were now seeing as we gazed down on the rush of liquid chocolate water below us, this is a photo of the same river when not in full spate. What a difference the rains make!
Given our recent experience, we had no difficulty understanding that there have been many occasions in the past when this river has bared its muddy teeth with disastrous results for the inhabitants of Mitchell. This photo, which can be found on a black granite plaque at the eastern end of the road bridge, shows what happened to the town during the height of the 2011 flood,
when the river showed complete contempt for the bridges and flowed right over them.
The Maranoa floods (to a much lesser extent) regularly. Indeed Mitchell's very location is a direct result of such an event. The area was first explored by the NSW Surveyor-General and explorer Thomas Mitchell (after whom the town is named) in 1846. Eight years later, one Edmund Morey took up occupation of a large pastoral run in the area, Mitchell Downs, but unfortunately the property homestead soon fell victim to the waters of the merciless Maranoa. The remnants of the building were salvaged and were used to establish the Maranoa Hotel, where, true to good old Aussie form, a town soon grew up around it. Mitchell was born.
By the turn of the century Mitchell was the hub of a thriving pastoral district. With a population of just over 500, the town boasted five pubs, five general stores, a saddlery, a chemist, two saw mills, two butchers and even an aerated water factory. As well as the established and thriving grazing industry, there was much enthusiasm at this time for the introduction of various crops. Vines, vegetables, millet and cotton were all mooted, but this was a short lived venture. Rainfall here is limited, and although the town's water supply is assured by tapping into the artesian supplies which lie beneath the town, general cropping did not take off.
Large pastoral properties continue to surround Mitchell but its population, which reached a peak of just under 2,000 in the early 1960's, has been in steady decline since, due in the main to rural amalgamations and the development of significantly better urban facilities in the not too distant major town of Roma.
So what can we find in today's Mitchell. We set off over the bridge along Cambridge Street to find out, but not before taking a quick detour left along the first side street, where we found the local Police Station
and the town Post Office. This street is also home to one of the four pubs in Mitchell, the Court House, but I'll have more to say about them later.
Back onto the main drag where we next came to one of the major tourist attractions in Mitchell....the artesian pools, nestled between the Memorial swimming pool and the town information centre and hall buildings.
Surrounded by these quite picturesque stained glass walls,
water in the two open air pools comes directly from the Great Artesian Basin. The pond into which the bore head flows is pretty warm. In the other, the temperature has been thoughtfully reduced to cater for those who have difficulty being immersed in a fluid in the high 30's - low 40's.
Whilst these pools do not necessarily attract visitors to the town per se, they provide a significant reason for many to prolong what night otherwise be an overnight stay, with obvious benefits for the rest of the town. What did surprise us a little was the degree to which the locals make use of this facility.....on our observations this is the 'town meeting place' where those who live here can leave cleansed in body and replete with the latest town gossip.
We remain utterly ambivalent about the therapeutic benefits attributed to these artesian ponds, a view which was cemented during our ten day stay in Moree. And at $8 a pop for a soak, we opted for a hot shower in the park.
The Mitchell Memorial swimming complex, which adjoins the hot pools, is just that...'Memorial', that is. This is one of two beautifully presented tributes to those who served which stand guard at the entrance (you can just see the road bridge in the distance).
Opposite the swimming centre, the Mitchell 'firies' stand ready to launch into action from this rather quaint looking station
whilst the side street on the other side of the road is home to one of Mitchell's three museums, which we were later told was of some interest (we remain a little over rural museums).
Now for a bit of a 'pot pourri' of the Mitchell shopping precinct which stretched westwards along both sides of Cambridge Street from this point (excluding the pubs), beginning with one of the many bottle trees to be seen in the town, just as we had previously found in Roma and other nearby towns.
If nothing else, Cambridge Street is home to several examples of rather eclectic street art. These pink (red?) roos are but one.
The needs of both the inner and outer man are catered for in this section of the street where the admirable Mitchell cafe rubs shoulders with the large and surprisingly well stocked clothing (and much more) store lurking behind its striped bull nosed verandah.
Every country town worth its salt can boast an excellent bakery, and Mitchell is no exception.
We cannot attest to the quality of viands on offer at the adjoining butchers, but our one purchase from the home of the Mitchell pastries et al, and the numbers who were constantly coming and going clutching their brown paper bags of goodies, or occupying the interior and exterior tables for a 'sit-down' nosh, all bore testament to the expertise of the local bakers.
Mitchell's CBD presents an interesting variety of architectural styles if nothing else. The old picture theatre is now home to the local library and art gallery.
Beyond this rather bland yellow brick building we come to a row of equally nondescript looking shops,
(where at least one proprietor is determined to stand out from the commercial herd)
and this rather grand, but now deserted guest house, stands like a decaying dowager, still bearing some signs of its former glory whilst steadily and inevitably succumbing to the relentless ravages of time and weather.
In complete contrast are the brightly painted and well maintained buildings which house the Mitchell CWA and the local vet.
Here, at the western end of Cambridge Street, we found another two completely contrasting buildings. Behind the impressive height of this old windmill and the bulk of the forecourt pergola
is the old town Courthouse Building, a surprisingly small structure, but one which has been lovingly restored and maintained, and which now acts as, yes, you guessed it, another town museum.
The keys to access this quaint little building are available from its neighbour, the modern offices of the Maranoa Regional Council, a structure of a completely different style and age.
By now we had almost reached the western end of the main drag, where Cambridge Street again became the Warrego Highway as it made it way out of town.
Here we came across the local school,
and directly opposite, the Mitchell Memorial Park.
As we wandered down the short avenue leading to the memorial plinth, we reflected on the fact that the good folk of Mitchell did not shirk their public duty when it came to remembering and honouring their compatriots who had volunteered for service in all the conflicts in which this country has been involved.
A nearby park and playground is also home two rather impressive reminders of the bygone era when steam was king,
whilst the wards of the Mitchell hospital are housed in one of the town's few modern buildings adjacent to the dry land gardens of this side of the Memorial Park.
As we were reversed course and made our way back to the CBD, we were presented with a stark reminder of the fact that we were in a bush town.
Folk on horseback....fine, but clip-clopping along the footpath?
And he was not alone! At least the main pack only trod the pavement to access a side street. Fortunately the steeds on which this group was mounted had not felt the need to decorate the footpath with a hindquarters calling card as they progressed. That would have been a step (or sidestep) too far in rural living! Now in the foreground of this shot you will see an odd looking little lamp post.
This quaint design is a feature of all the posts along Cambridge Street, whether working (as this one is) or not.
Equally distinctive are the street bins. I was not able to discover what this style represents, but whatever it is, it is different.
In addition to the light poles and the bins, we noted two other inescapable features of the main street of Mitchell. I've already mentioned the street art, which can be found on the roadside (the kangaroos)
on shop windows,
on walls,
and embedded into the pavement itself where here we see a section of the curved lines of the Maranoa wending its way past two of the local bird species, the red tailed black cockatoo (we did actually see some of these nearby to our great delight).
The other stand out feature (or should that be the sit down feature) of this part of Mitchell is the public seating. It comes in all shapes and styles...plain flat benches,
reminders of the cogs and chains of machinery,
taking advantage of the shade of the bottle trees
(more than once)
and, just for something completely different, looking for all the world like a row of 'pop-art' toadstools which had sprung to life out of the pavement.
It's the old story....linger a while and be surprised. We find it where ever we roam.
I know, what about the pubs? Are there still five? What do they offer? I've not forgotten. In my next we'll visit the pubs, take a look at the nearby free camp at the Neil Turner weir where some of the occupants clearly fall into the class of campers who are the bane of park owner's lives, and enjoy one last social fling in Mitchell with the 'Tambo party pets'.
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