I suspect that by now, dear friends, you may well have almost reached the point of feeling that we are approaching a situation of 'Barcaldine overkill'.
I have to admit I am a bee's nut from that position myself, but given that we'll probably never again tarry here other than perhaps for an overnight stop whilst en route elsewhere, I have decided to go for broke. And, in my own defence, as I hope you will agree, this is a town which historically punches well above its weight.
I have already done Oak Street to death, so with one last sortie to its far eastern end to check out the showgrounds and the camping area there, we'll spend the rest of our time in some of the back streets, where I've focused on a selection of some of the many buildings of interest.
So, to the showgrounds, where, once through the gates,
we first came to the town swimming pool, a large complex which, like so many in this part of the country was closed for the winter. Despite the fact that the daytime temperatures average in the low 20's, the nights can be frosty indeed, and with these pools open to the elements and unheated, a dip at this time of the year would be bracing to say the least.
The 1,500 or so folk who make Barcaldine their home are more than well served by the showgrounds, which are expansive, and from what we saw, very well maintained.
Apart from the excellent grandstand the ablution block immediately behind it was large and fully equipped with heads and showers. This is as well, because the local authorities here offer these grounds to those who wish to take advantage of cheap camping fees.
With power and water available, plenty of shade trees, and a grand outlook across the sward, the few we found here on the day of our visit were well set up. The three day limit imposed on those who choose to camp here was the only reason we did not stay here ourselves.....it is a first rate spot and one we'll certainly use in the future.
With that end of town out of of the way, we wandered back to the more central part, where at the intersection of Ash and Beech Streets, the town War Memorial is framed on one side by the big top of the Australian Workers Heritage Centre and on the other, the Post Office building.
Behind this clock tower tribute to those who have served is a small park in which there is the almost obligatory assortment of field guns behind which we could take in another perspective of the lovely pergola which is part of the AWHC gardens. The lovely old Post Office building rose here in 1913. Prior to that postal services were offered from 'The Sentry Box' in the town railway station. If you look closely above the trees you will spot the top of a tower carrying what appears to be an array of telecommunications equipment. That's exactly what it is, but we'll take a closer look a this shortly
Diagonally across the intersection from the Post Office the Barcaldine library and a bush clothing shop share a building. At first glance the library section appears pretty ordinary, but wait...I invite you to peer more closely at the front wall.
What's this? From across the street this does look for all the world like bookshelves, but in fact the front wall has been cleverly painted to create this illusion. What a smart bit of advertising this is!
Facing out onto Ash Street in this same vicinity, the Barcaldine Shire Hall is another of the local service buildings, like the Post Office, to be erected here just before the outbreak of WW1. Typical of Barky, it is surrounded by well kept gardens and large trees, and today all looks very well ordered and ship shape.
This was not always so. In the early 1950's, during a period in which alterations were being made to the building, access was less controlled. Apparently a herd of local goats took advantage of this during one morning smoko period. Whilst the staff were away from their desks enjoying a cuppa and a fag, the hungry goats raided the unattended office and chewed up all the cheques and paper money which had been left on an office table. Rich fare indeed....and can you imagine trying to explain that loss to either an angry boss of the auditor!
Ranging a little further into the back streets we paid a passing visit to the Barcaldine Historical Museum,
set in spacious grounds on the corner of Beech and Gidyea Streets, grounds which include a mini steam railway line and numerous outbuildings crammed with all sorts of machinery exhibits.
But, just like several of the buildings in the AWHC grounds, this has also been relocated. The museum building actually began life as the Queensland National Bank building which was situated near the current Post Office. This branch closed when the bank underwent an amalgamation in 1973. In true outback 'let's make the most of an opportunity' style, the local historial society first rented the building, and when the land on which it now stands was donated, persuaded the local council to relocate it. That's enterpise for you!
Another story of transformation and adaptation to suit new circmstances applies to the tower we first saw high over the trees behind the Post Office, a tower which was obviously once one which contained water.
This is indeed true, but the actual reason for its erection came as something of a surprise.
So rather than being built to keep the water flowing through home taps, the construction of this facility was driven by the need for improved fire fighting capacity, a need which was amply and devestatingly demonstrated in 1909.
At about 0330 hours on 10 August of that year, a train cleaner spotted flames leaping out of a store in Oak Street. With the alarm, raised a bucket brigade toiled in vain to control the flames which were spreading, well, like wildfire, along the wooden buildings lining the street, devouring all in their path.
Eventually a council operated fire hose was brought into action, with an effect later described by the 'Western Champion' as "being only sufficient to.....extinguish a match".
The blaze was eventually brought under control by about 0500 hours, but by that time eighteen Oak Street premises had been totally destroyed, as this old photo courtesy of the 'Queensland State Library' shows.
Now I have no idea what effect the stinging comments in the press of the day may have had in pushing the concept of an improved water supply (or at least pressure) but it was less than four years later that the water tower rose high over the town on Pine Street.
Water was supplied from this tank until new pumping facilites made this facility obsolete, and in November 2006, rather than merely mothball or demolish the structure, the Shire Council decided to put the tower to another good use. After an engineering assessment demonstrated that the tower was sound, the radio and television antennae we see to day were placed aournd its rim and the Barcaldine water tower continues to serve the townsfolk in a completely diffrerent way.
From the site of the water tower we wandered west until we eventually came to what is one of Barcaldine's oddest buildings and one which is truly unique, the Masonic Lodge.
By now we were becoming used to reading that many of Barcaldine's buildings did not begin life where we now found them, and this quaint structure was no exception.
But this one is also the town champion when it comes to its relocation history. Believe it or not, after being originally built and erected in Dingo Creek in 1876, the original corrugated iron building was moved by rail to eventually arrive in Barcaldine in 1886, but not before it had been plonked down and uprooted again in no less than five other towns en route. Frankly extraordinary!
Once here, the good burghers of Barky were convinced that The Lodge was an institution which they could support, and the building we see today was erected, one which imitated its predecessor in that it was a two storey edifice clad with iron.
But the Barky boys decided to go one further. No plain iron cladding front for them, no sir. A spot of deception was warranted. The front of the building was lined with chamferboard which was then painted to make it appear as if the building were constructed of stone blocks adorned with plasters (attached columns) friezes, semi circular windows and a porch.
Over the ensuing years the brethren of the Lodge seemed to have fallen down on the job as far as upkeep was concerned. By 1980 the original 'stone' front was in very poor condition and the initially suggested solution was to cover the entire building with aluminium cladding. Fortunately the National Trust was aghast at the prospect and provided funding for what we see today, which is actually a very good restoration job, true to the original colours and forms.
And I cannot leave this extraordinary building without sharing one tale with you, that of the indoctrination of the first female associate member of what is normally very much bastion of male machinations (and, of course, some very good works).
Let me quote from 'Between The Bouganvillias':
"The Masonic Lodge was off-limits to women unless doing the cleaning. The wife of one of the members, dying with curiosity about what took place at meetings (members were sworn to secrecy), hid under the long tablecloth. Unable to control a sneeze, she was discovered. After agreeing to an oath of secrecy, she became the first female associate member."Oh, the shame and embarrassment of it! What it would have been to be a fly on the wall of that Barcaldine household. I should imagine things around the dinner table would have been chilly to the point of sub-zero until the very practical final solution was reached. And, I wondered, did she continue to do the cleaning, or was that now beneath her her found status? I shall never know.
Elm Street is home to a classic old outback church, St Peters Anglican, which was unfortunately closed as we walked by. We missed out on seeing what are purported to be some of the best stained glass windows in Queensland.
I don't know what it is about Elm Street, but the house of worship of those of the Catholic faith stands separated from St Peters by only a hall building. This must be hallowed turf indeed.
Finally, our back street bash brought us back to Ash Street, where unsurprisingly, next to the Police Station,
we found the Barcaldine Court House, not the original mind you, but the second, built here in 1908, yet another of Barky's public buildings which seemed to have arisen during a pre-WW1 boom.
For those of you who have persevered through our Barcaldine adventures, you may recall that I began with the comment that it is known as the 'Garden City of the West', one in which bougainvilleas feature heavily. Let me conclude with a few examples.
The rear entrance to the Barcaldine Country Motor Inn features this enormous grey coloured Bismark palm and there is more to come.
Every unit and cabin is surrounded by lawns, bushes and shrubs of all varieties, a real outback oasis.
And tucked away amongst all this beautiful foliage was a demonstration that the owners of this delightful place are not in the least pretentious!
The colours and variety of the plantings in this private garden on the Landsborough Highway were a treat,
and the same thing could be said for the garden
adjoining this charming little town cottage a mere stone's throw from our park.
As for the bougainvilleas, well they are just pop up everywhere, providing beautiful splashes of colour in the dry and dusty back streets,
alongside the main highways
and even next door to our park.
We knew before we arrived here that Barcaldine had much to offer rambling rovers such as we, but it was not until we got seriously stuck in that we discovered just how much. We were more than pleased that we had taken the decision to stay here, and, once here, to extend.
But now it is high time to hightail....east towards the coast and thence north towards the sun. Our Channel country and Queensland outback adventures have come to a close......for the time being at least.
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