THE TREE THAT WAS, A REVOLUTION THAT VERY NEARLY WAS, AND PLENTY OF PUBS - BARCALDINE - PART 2 (THE MAIN STREET)

'The Garden City of the West' is a description which sits well with what we saw during our stay in Barcaldine. 

But the pronunciation of the name of this town, derived from Barcaldine Downs, a sheep run established nearby in 1863 by a Scottish immigrant Donald Cameron, has been the cause of much confusion, especially amongst interstate newcomers such as we. And as we had learnt before, the natives will pounce on any who transgress with barely disguised scorn as they correct what they have heard.

So let me put this to rest right from the outset and save any of you who might follow us to these regions from ignominy. The correct pronunciation is 'Bar-call-din', with a slight emphasis on the 'call' bit, but as I have said earlier, it is universally known as 'Barky'.

Aside from its gardens, Barcaldine's major claim to fame lies in the fact that it was here that the Great Shearers' Strike of the late 1800's led to the formation of the Australian Labor Party. 

A visit to this town is an absolute 'must' for any interested in the history of working folk in Australia but at this point I must issue a reader warning.......I'll have much more to say about this later (much more!).

Barky is also a town of pubs, and as has been noted by one wag, it is probably the only town in the country were a heritage walk of real significance can be undertaken in conjunction with a pub crawl ......this certainly works for yours truly!

The hotels and the 'Tree of Knowledge' memorial are all to be found in Oak Street, or the Capricorn Highway as all major maps will show it.

We made a jaunt along this street the first on our list of things to see and do whilst in Barky. beginning at the junction through which we had driven a day or so previously.

Large trees and shrubs feature in the view looking east along this, Barcaldine's main thoroughfare, 

whilst trimmed hedges and other garden areas are a feature of the approach into town from the west.

Even the entrance to the motel dining area on the north-western corner is lined with shrubs (you would never guess State of Origin was on!)

Apart from the trees and gardens, an abiding feature of Oak Street during our stay was lines of parked caravans. Many passing through stop briefly to visit the Australian Workers Heritage Centre

and the site of the Tree of Knowledge. Frankly, from what I have now seen, a whistle-stop visit would not do justice to either site.

The northern side of the street is bounded by a longitudinal lawned park,

complete with what we have now come to view as the almost obligatory mural. Right along this section of the street, 

kerbside plantings

do much to maintain the town's reputation for its gardens, which I have to note do come as a real visual boon after much of what one sees through this part of the country.

And it is not just the local authorities who have put in all the work. As we shall see later in our jaunt around the back streets, many of the local home owners have made similar efforts. In fact we were soon to discover that a booklet detailing points of interest along the 'Barcaldine Heritage Trail' is most aptly entitled 'Between The Bougainvilleas'. They colour the landscape here in significant numbers.

But before I embark on the more serious stuff, a quick spot of levity in the form of the sign on the back window of this little van.

Now that's indeed profound! What this photo doesn't show is the fact that the bottom sticker carries a rider in which I hope the owner does not place too much faith. 'This sticker better get me out of a couple of tickets!' is a statement doomed to disappoint!

Now back to the more important stuff in Oak Street. The first building we came to on the southern side was most  impressive.

Here on the corner of Willow Street the tell tale sign at the bottom of the dark brown screen around this side of this large building indicated that this was the Visitor Information Centre. 

I should point out at this stage, that this screen is far less imposing in the afternoon sun as this shot courtesy of 'm3architecture' shows, but in any light this seemed, at first glance, to be an information centre with a distinct difference.

It is. Now home to not only a mass of tourist information and souvenirs, The Globe Precinct is a relatively new multi-million dollar community cultural project which includes an art gallery, function room and history room. 

As we first walked towards it, I thought that it was a pub, and as I later discovered that's exactly what it was, originally.

This photo, from the wonderful website 'GDay Pubs', shows the Globe Hotel as it was before its $2.5 million dollar makeover. This historic hotel rose on this site in the first of its several forms (and names) in 1887 and was the first of string of pubs to line the southern side of Oak Street.

Because of the displays of arts and crafts throughout the visitor information section, much of which is the subject of copyright (or, in my view, the self-inflated view of many artists and artisans that everyone visiting is doing so with the sole purpose of stealing their ideas....what crap!) photography is banned inside the building. This was a matter of great disappointment to me. There was much here I would have loved to have shared with you. 

More lawns and gardens feature on the eastern side of this wonderful structure which makes a real statement about the way in which the good folk of Barcaldine view their town and its place in Australian history.

Just beyond the Globe Precinct, the small Elders Real Estate building could not make more of a contrast, but it was the sign in front it which caught my attention.

This was the site of another local pub which, surprise, surprise, was burnt down twice before the owners gave up (only in outback Queensland!) But that chuckle aside, of more interest to me was the fact that here, within less than fifty metres along Oak Street, we have come to two defunct hotels......and there are five more to come....all of which are open for business as we were to discover. As I said before, pubs and heritage side by side.

And here is the first of them, the Commercial, with the tent like structure of the Workers' Heritage Centre in the background.

By now we had reached Beech Street, where the corner is dominated by the unmistakable red decor of the Shakespeare Hotel (with two more pubs just beyond it),

and here, as this shot of Oak Street at this point shows (thanks to 'Aussie Towns' for this wide angle shot), 



we were nearing what I think it is fair to say is the tourist focal point of the street.

The Comet windmill which towers over the street was originally erected at Back Creek, the site of Queensland's first free flowing bore sunk in 1886 at a spot just under 40 kilometres east of the town. Initially drilled to supply the steam engines of the advancing Central Railway, the Back Creek bore was a bit of a dud and was soon replaced with the Town Bore which filled the waterholes of nearby Lagoon Creek. As another historical aside, Sidney Williams, who built this windmill in his Rockhampton workshop, also erected the first hangar at Longreach for the emerging airline Qantas.

Below the windmill, this rather odd looking jumble of pieces stands as an 'artistic memorial' designed to celebrate all things 'artesian' in and around Barcaldine. I shall move on without further comment!









East of the windmill, the artesian memorial, and another stretch of the linear park along Oak Street, the streetscape is filled with the large box like structure which now houses the reincarnation of Barcaldine's famous 'Tree of Knowledge',

with the railway station building in the background (this is significant in the overall scheme of things here).  

Before reaching the site of the tree, we first came to this metal statue depicting a shearer (and, of course, his dog)  holding aloft what appears to be a flag similar to that designed by the miners who stood at the Eureka Stockade, and as the plaque at the base of the statue explains, that is exactly what it is.  

I'll come to the story of the strike her shortly, but it is interesting to note that Eureka and Barcaldine are the only two places and occasions in Australia's history where the military have been called out to confront citizens during periods of civil unrest.

Behind the 'shearer' the names of those who led the Shearers' Strike are recorded on small plaques atop these short plinths and at the end of this 'avenue of honour' 

a large information board, erected on the occasion of the 125th anniversary of the strike, provides those passing by with a very brief resume of the events of 1891 here in Barcaldine.

Next we came to the base of the structure which shelters the 'new' Tree of Knowledge  with the current town railway station directly behind it.






Now I did mention earlier that the co-location of these two sites is significant. Many think that Barcaldine's existence was due solely to the establishment of the sheep runs in the nearby district, but this is not actually true.

Whilst there is little doubt that these enterprises certainly shaped the development of the town, as is noted in most excellent booklet to which I have earlier referred, 'Barcaldine burst into existence as a Railway Town'.

Let me quote directly from the introduction:

"In the 1880's the central Queensland railway line moved inland and the population in towns grew then died away as the line moved further west. Part of the Barcaldine Downs allotment was surveyed and sold at the end of 1885, and the first residents arrived early in the following year. [The railhead reached Barcaldine on 8 November 1885].

The township took shape and by 1887 there were a dozen hotels along Oak Street [now that would have made for a really decent pub crawl....comment from yours truly!] as well as several general stores, half a dozen stores owned by Chinese, butchers, drapers, blacksmiths, ban and a newspaper which endured over half a century. 

It is thought that Barcaldine survived where other railheads faded because it was surrounded by large pastoral holdings already established. the town was conveniently situated to receive traffic from Blackall, Aramac and Isisford, and it was six years before the railway line extended to Longreach."

So here you have it....the sheep runs and the railway coexisting to keep Barky on the map in the late 1800's, but the presence of the railway was to shape later events in a much more profound manner.

This old photo of Oak Street (date unknown but in the latter part of the 19th Century) shows the gum which was to become famous standing in the street not too far from the original railway station, with horse drawn drays loaded with wool bales lining up awaiting transfer. 

Although the Ghost Gum which stood outside the railway station was not the only one in Oak Street, its location gave it significance well before the strike. Let me quote from another source, the pamphlet produced by the Barcaldine Regional Council relating to 'the tree':

"From the time the township was formed as a railway camp it was a meeting and gathering place. In the very early years the Tree was known as the 'Hallelujah Tree' as it was where the Salvation Army held their services and band recitals.

The Tree also had another important purpose in the early years as shade for animals and people. It was used as a hitching post for animals carting goods to and from the railway line.........There were several attempts over the years to have the Tree cut down but because it provided the only shade near the railway station it was saved [only to be poisoned so many years later]."

This same article goes on to note that the association of the Tree with politics actually began before the strike, when many a local political aspirant would harangue any gathered to listen from the shade of the gum's branches.

But it was the events of 1891 which brought this 'Corymbia aparrerinja'  into real prominence, well beyond Barcaldine. Understandably, given the significance of the events, both as they unfolded and subsequently, much has been written about what went on here.

Things had been brewing for a few years before they came to a head in early 1891, and by that time real fears were held about what might eventuate. Indeed, as I noted previously, in its entire history, Australia has only seen two armed insurrections between white settlers and government-backed forces – the Eureka revolt of 1854 and the Queensland Shearers’ Strike of 1891. 

I have read about this subject for hours, and have decided to share what I consider to be one of the more succinct versions which I sourced from the Queensland Department of Environment and Energy:

"The Great Shearers' Strike. 

In 1891, the wool industry was the unrivalled economic pillar of the colony of Queensland and the great strike was a tremendous and tumultuous event. 

 Australia was going into its worst ever depression due to a global financial crisis. Unemployment was rife, the wool price had fallen and shearing was one of the most demanding and lowest paid of occupations. The Great Shearers’ Strike became the first significant struggle between organised labour and capital in Australia. 

Tension arose between the shearers and the pastoralists who proposed reducing the shearers’ wages of £1 per hundred sheep. The shearers protested by going on strike, a crippling blow to the wool industry. Barcaldine—the end of the rail line from Rockhampton, and at the centre of richest pastoral area of the colony—was the focal point for thousands of shearers and bush workers striking for better conditions. 

The unions took radical action to pursue their claims for better pay including setting fire to grass, burning down woolsheds and abducting and intimidating ‘scab’ (non-union) labour.

After four months the colonial administration, with the backing of the New South Wales and Queensland governments, bought in the Queensland Colonial Army and the strike was broken.

The leaders were tried for conspiracy, rioting and sedition and sent to St Helena prison in Moreton Bay for three years. 

[where, as this photo shows, life could not have been much fun]

Forming the Australian Labor Party 

While the strike was unsuccessful, it led to calls for a new political party to represent the interests of working people, which later led to the formation of the Labor party. 

The strike committee issued its final manifesto on 20 June 1891, calling for unionists to register on the electoral rolls. As a result of losing the strike, the unions and others in Queensland formed the Labour Electoral Leagues, which later became the Labour Party and eventually the Australian Labor Party. 

The formation of the Labour Electoral Leagues led to the election in 1892, in Queensland, of a shearer, TJ Ryan, who became the first 'Labour' representative in any government, anywhere in the world. During that strike, as well as the maritime strike of 1890, a crucial and historical connection was forged between the union movement and politics."

Whilst it is true that that Barcaldine was the main focal point of unionist activity, where the striking shearers were more than ably supported by railway and other transport workers through the recently formed 'Carriers Union', it would be quite wrong to think that the unrest was isolated to this town.

Strikers were active in areas to the east and south of Barcaldine at Clermont, Capella, Tambo and Springsure and as far north as Winton and Hughenden (all towns we have visited and know quite well!).

With the arrival of 'scab' labour (by train from Rockhampton), violent confrontations between the shearers and the graziers were imminent. It has been said, with what I consider to be good reason, that Queensland was on the verge of civil war. In fact in a telegram sent to one of the graziers on 22 February 1891, a government official warned that, "The first shot fired will maybe cause the Australian Revolution" 

Many of the strikers were arming themselves and the tension between them, the pastoralists and the authorities was palpable. Despite this, both sides acted with commendable self restraint, and the feared 'bloodbath' never eventuated. 

Indeed at one point a leading grazier called on the commanding officer of one group of soldiers to open fire on the assembled strikers. To his credit the redoubtable Major Ricardo told the pastoralist to 'piss off' (or words to that effect) although he did give the order to fix bayonets.




Of all the strikers' camps, Lagoon Creek, just west of Barcaldine was by far the largest. By mid-March of 1891 it is estimated that some 4,500 disaffected workers were in Barcaldine or camped nearby.










Their accommodation was rudimentary to say the least!









In Barcaldine, after the Government had dispatched police and soldiers to the area, the strikers responded by carrying out their own drills and staging torchlight processions along Oak Street. As the non-union labour, police and soldiers usually arrived by rail, strikers would rally outside the railway station to block their arrival and protest. Consequently, the tree in front of the station, the Tree of Knowledge, became the location of many meetings and a focus for protest.

I mentioned earlier the importance the arrival of the railway line at Barcaldine had in relation to the town's development. 

It also played a critical role in the ending of the Great Strike. In what I find an impressive pun, one historian has argued that the strike was 'railroaded'. If it had not been for the railway the Government would not have had the ability to quickly pour troops and equipment into Barcladine and elsewhere. If the civil unrest of 1891 and the demands of the shearers (which in my now considered view were entirely justified) had occurred six years earlier, the outcome may well have been much different.

The end of the strike as not the end of the significance of the Tree of Knowledge for the Barcaldine locals. Beginning with the Boer War, those leaving the area to join the various major conflicts since then would gather beneath its branches for a formal farewell. During the two World Wars many fund raising and morale boosting events were also conducted in its shade. 

As this shot, courtesy of 'Queensland Historical Atlas' shows, the Tree of Knowledge, pruned and nurtured, continued to flourish in Oak Street outside the railway station year after year......

















............until April 2006, that is, when it was poisoned and never recovered. I can clearly remember the outrage this act of wanton vandalism caused. Sadly the culprit has never been caught, but the significance of this tree was such that immediate steps were taken to replace it. 












The trunk was removed and sent to Brisbane where it underwent a 'world first' preservation process to protect it from fungal and insect attacks. In keeping with its heritage listing, it was replaced in the exact spot from which it was taken and the remainder of what we see to day was built around it.

Just under 3,500 timber slats have been hung above the preserved trunk to give the illusion that the tree still has a canopy. 

With the modern railway station as a backdrop, the floor carries etched patterns of the name of all the towns in which strikers were active, and the glass platform which surrounds the base of the tree provides a view of the root ball (why I am not quite sure!).



It is at night that this memorial really come into its own, and here I must confess that my photographic skills, or more to the point the lack of them, has forced me to resort to the Internet to do justice to what we saw.











This 'tripadvisor' shot 

and this from 'Placeblog - World Press' hopefully gives some idea of what happens here at night.










The full effect of the lighting can best  be seen from some distance down Oak Street, when the entire 'canopy' glows green (thanks to 'Queensland Travel Information' for this shot).

Well, dear readers, despite my best efforts, this has become another of my epics! I can honestly say this grew legs by accident, but the events here in Barcaldine and the surrounding areas before and during 1891 were to have such profound consequences for Australia as a whole, I could not bring myself to skim over the story.




So now let's get back to the here and now and stay true to the title of this missive with a look at the rest of the pubs of Oak Street. More of less opposite the 'Tree', the Artesian Hotel, clearly in need of the attention of a good sign writer,

and the Railway stand almost side by side,
















whilst at the end of this short block of shops, 













the last of the five working pubs of the street, the Union, occupies the corner of Maple Street,


















together with its group of somewhat less than inspiring motel units.








We were a little curious to know just what was brewed in the 'Witches Kitchen' but never did get around to sitting ourselves down here for a meal.









Looking back along Oak Street from this point, you can see that it does appear to be almost wall to wall hotels. 

We did wander into a couple of them, with the Shakespeare being by far the most impressive internally, but frankly, once we had taken a passing peek into most of them, a genuine pub crawl did not feature highly on our agenda (although it might have been a better way to spend a couple of afternoon hours than listening to Ken and Annie!)

Before we farewell Oak Street central I must note that this part of town also hosts cafes, shops and the town bakery.

The owners of the town fabric shop certainly know how to get attention,














whilst a bit of a brag in the window of the bakery brought back a bag of memories. We have oft graced the bakery at Port Elliot and are truly familiar with the delights of the Denmark bakery in WA. But, ah, the Orange Spot, which was listed directly above the shop we were looking at, was the one which brought back the best memories. This was the saviour of many a young Glenelg lifesaver (including yours truly) when, after a freezingly cold compulsory club training swim, the only way to rejoin the human race was to scoff down a hot Orange Spot pie (or two) and a can of Coke! 









The Ridgee Didge Cafe is something of a local landmark although we did not try the fare here.








We did, however, darken the doors of what must be one of the best pizza places in the bush. Graham, the propietor, actually owns and runs a local pastoral property and opens 'The Lounging Emu' only on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings, vitually as a hobby.

Hobby it may be, but let me say that for any with a liking for pizza, our advice is to plan your visit to Barky to coincide with one of those days. 





Apart from the fact that when he is not flat out Graham is a grand racontiour with a welath of local knowledge, the product of his oven is as good as any we have tasted (and Liz and I are both more than partial to pizza and have munched away on many throughout the length and breadth of Australia). What a find this was, and with a good bottle of BYO red from the bottle shop across the road, our last evening meal in Barcaldine could not have been better.

But we still have much to see and do before the day of our departure.....and I promise to be briefer from now on!