A STREET OF SURPRISES - QUILPIE - PART 2 (THE MAIN STREET) (1 - 3 JUNE 2019)

I have to begin this missive with a brief explanation (this will be the only thing brief about this one!). 

On the basis that we may never travel this way again (highly unlikely, but.....) we really gave Quilpie the 'real once over', with, as I hope you will agree, some justification. So, dear readers, buckle up for some detail, which I have to add I've tried to keep mainly pictorial.

In the general scheme of things out here, Quilpie (the name is from the Aboriginal for stone-curlew) is a relative new comer. Although graziers began to take up land in the mid 1800's and some twenty years later the discovery of the famous boulder opal, particularly in the Toompine area brought prospectors and miners to the district, it was actually the railways which put Quilpie 'on the map'.

This line, which ran west from Brisbane, was completed in 1917 with an extension from Charleville and the town was then formally gazetted. The rails go no further, hence the nickname 'The End Of The Line'. So, whilst Quilpie is now the business centre for the Shire, it is the youngest of its few towns.

With a fluctuating population (it is fascinating to read the disparity of figures on the various relevant web-sites) reckoned today to be between 500 - 1,000, the local economy revolves primarily around grazing. The secondary industries of opal mining, gas and oil all combine to result an employment level in the local population which is remarkably high.

We set out to explore Brolga Street, the town's main drag, by firstly walking down the wide expanse of Chipu Street, from our park

past the cricket practise nets in the large town sporting complex

and the very well established bowls club which also doubles as The Quilpie Club. This had been recommended to us as a good spot for a cold ale and a good meal, but with our camp happy hour fires and entertainment, we just didn't get around to a visit.

Here, on the junction with Brolga Street, where a colourful sign had directed us to our caravan park, 

we came across what we now recognised as a probable bore site. Indeed it was, the main town bore, but unlike Yowah for example, where it was sunk almost at the time the town first sprang up, here in Quilpie this local lifesaver is a relatively new addition to the town infrastructure.

There is a fascinating story behind it. Although folk had been living here since the late 1800's and the town come into being officially in 1917, there was no really good water supply.

Apart from the domestic inconvenience this must have caused, the absence of a good supply of H2O resulted in a town calamity. In 1926, as the residents watched on helplessly, a fire destroyed a large block of the main street buildings. This prompted action.

The bore was sunk in 1933 (you will note I did not say 'prompt action!) and now provides a good supply of water to the town. As with many bores which tap into the Great Artesian Basin, the water which emerges is anything but cool. 

Here in Quilpie the extraordinary volume of 1.3 million gallons per day (which was the initial flow) hit the surface at a seriously warm 168 degrees F (75.5 degrees C). Between 1952 and 1963 this hot water was harnessed to generate electricity for the town.

From the bore site we continued east along divided Brolga Street where the median strip was host to the numerous cut out metal silhouettes of a drover and cattle.

I have resisted the temptation to focus on the town housing, but could not resist this one which was not too far from the corner.

It was the detail in the hand painted notice which really brought me to a halt. Is any comment

other than a quote from that marvellous Aussie film 'The Castle' necessary? A fireplace, fishponds and privacy...... "Tell them they're dreaming!"

Moving right along......as we strolled further along Brolga Street I was able to take a 'back shot' of the cut out cattle grazing on the median strip which shows them a little more distinctly than my first effort.  These actually extend for a good distance along the street and provide arriving visitors with a reminder of the major industry in this district.







We had not walked too much further when we came to one of the major attractions on Brolga Street, this park next to the Quilpie Railway Station museum.

An information stand at the front of the park included this map of the area in which we were 

currently travelling which I've included to hopefully provide some better idea of where these towns lie in relation to each other.

Although the railway museum's doors were closed at the time of our visit, we were able to happily 

admire the large mural wall which formed a backdrop to the park area, where various aspects of Quilpie's development and the lives of its inhabitants have been depicted in a series of scenes, all of which have in front of them an explanatory stand.

Here, for example, we could gaze on a section of the mural 

which  was described thus.

It seemed that the local birds were also interested!

At the end of the wall, with the old railway station in the background, 









this scene combined depictions of some of the town's sporting activities (polo cross is very big in Quilpie), the old Imperial Hotel which was destroyed by fire in 1992 (only in Queensland!), transport in the form of the railway and a camel train, in a tribute to the skill of the drovers who were so critical to the development of this area, a rider herding an errant beast back to the mob.

This really is a classic example of the old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words, and apart from presenting important aspects of Quilpie life to the passing parade, this is a significant work of art in its own right.

The artistic theme was continued at the front of the Quilpie Community Hall across the road from the old railway station. The large hall itself was not so unusual, 

but the seating under its front verandah certainly was. 

Here one could take one's ease on a long, colourful and very oddly shaped bench, squat on a low stool or sit back in the surrounds of a cut out clay urn. What an completely unexpected sight this was.

Those responsible for the decoration of the nearby town library were not about to drop the artistic ball either.

Here, in an arresting display of colour, a stylised depiction of a seam of boulder opal streaks across the entire width of the front wall of this 'home of tomes'.

On a completely different and far more somber note, the Quilpie Shire Military Museum fronts Brolga Street opposite the library.

This small but well organised museum is home to many of the usual suspects, but two displays in particular caught my eye, the first of which was this tribute to the memory of Rick Milosevic who was killed in Afghanistan on 29 August 2012 in one of those wretched 'green on blue' attacks. 

The (completely unexpected) focus of art in Quilpie featured in the other exhibit which grabbed my attention, this painting of an Anzac Day march down the main street which, for me, really captured the 'colour of Quilpie'. 

By now the 'cattle' had wandered off the median strip and we were approaching the administrative and commercial heart of Quilpie,

beginning with the seat of Shire local government.

And it was here that we came to the first of several opal outlets which front the main street where I was amused to see that it was 'open to the public'! 

The impressive looking Quilpie Post Office, which takes pride of place on one corner of the junction of Brolga and Buln Buln Streets, was also the source of some bewilderment and mirth for us.

Now, I think you will agree that this notice outside the post office is unequivocal.......there is no lunch hour here, but.......

just look what we found posted on the entrance door. I wondered if the locals were as confused as we were!

The 'new' Imperial Hotel, which stands on the opposite corner, was far less impressive a building than its predecessor (as painted on the park mural) and, for an outback pub, had little to attract our further interest.

But here the median strip again came to life, this time with a small flock of metal sheep taking the place of the previous cattle.

Every country town must have a bakery (and Quilpie was no exception) but very few stand side by side with an opal shop.

It was at this point of our main street ramble that we came across another complete surprise, this time in the form of a small median strip memorial in front of the impressive bulk of what appeared to be another hotel.

I was about two walk on by, but  curiosity got the better of me. Imagine my surprise when I found that this modest lump of rock carried a tribute to one of South Australia's own. The plaque praised the efforts of the Sisters of Saint Joseph and, more significantly, their founder, Mary MacKillop. A nearby information board detailed how she had begun her good works in the South Australian South-East town of Penola. Brolga Street continued to confound!

This building, commonly known as 'The Brick', was indeed once a functioning hotel. Built in 1926 by Jimmy Corones, the Quilpie Heritage Inn now functions as a B&B, although we did discover that there are moves afoot to restore its liquor licence.

The name Corones is one which immediately rang a bell with us. No visit to nearby (200 kms to the east) Charleville would be complete without a tour of the famous Hotel Corones, one of the Australian outback's grand hotels (I think it could be fairly said that it really has no peer). We did so in our 'Coromal days' during our first trip north (in 2009 which was decidedly the pre-blog era). 

The story of immigrant Harry and his young nephew Jimmy, who arrived in this country penniless, and their rise to riches in outback south-west Queensland is nothing short of mind-boggling. Harry, in particular, rubbed shoulders with the rich and famous in his Charleville hostelry. I highly recommend to you a spot of research to share in this extraordinary tale (yes, I'll spare you all this time, but it really is worth the effort!).

With evoked memories of our first days on the road swirling around in my mind, we pushed on east along Brolga Street where we found another of the town's several cafes and the local servo.

In front of Heinemann's cafe another flock of cleverly crafted sheep graced the median strip

whilst more local art was to be found in the town Memorial Park on the opposite side of the street

in the form of yet another colourful mural with an obviously appropriate theme.

By now we had almost reached the end of the Quilpie CBD, but the opal shops kept appearing. What a change these premises were from those we had seen so recently in Yowah.

For me, it would be almost impossible to conceive having any quality of life in a town such as Quilpie without a large public swimming pool. Clearly the local burghers agree. 

But it gets better! Not only is this a magnificent facility as country pools go, but as the provision of a public service, it is free to all, including visitors to the town. Now that is what I call putting the public purse to very good use. Well done Quilpie Shire!

By now, as you can see, we had reached the end of the road, well, the end of Brolga Street at least. From here the bitumen runs on east, across the Bulloo River  to Charleville, but we have been there, done that (twice now) and our heads will be turning north-west on departure. 

And, what would any self-respecting country Aussie town be without its CWA? Even although the Quilpie HQ looks a little isolated at this end of town, the fair maids and matrons of Quilpie have not let the side down!

So dear readers, that brings to an end our gallop along Quilpie's main street...almost. Let me close with two more examples of 'arty Quilpie' where here the median strip is now playing host to a small flock of emus,

and the wall of the now defunct Quilpie Cinema building displays a series of cartoons of one of my favourite strips of the past....the incomparable 'Footrot Flats'.

What would life have been like without a daily dose of lovable 'Dog', his master 'Wal', 'Aunt Dolly', 'Cheeky Hobson' and, of course, that most ferocious of all felines, the tom cat 'Horse', not to mention all the other unforgettable characters. I was seriously disappointed when Murray Ball, the New Zealand creator of this hilarious (and cuttingly incisive) strip,  hung up his pen.

And finally, no presentation of Brolga Street at this time of the year could be considered complete without some mention of the fact that between about 0930 and 1400 hours on any day the street is absolutely awash with parked caravans. This is just one side of the divided road...it was just as busy on the other!

Apart from its main street of surprises, Quilpie continued to impress and entertain us throughout our stay. The Baldy Top lookout, a memorial to the unplanned landing by the famous aviatrix Amy Johnson, a church with an opal alter and more.