Day 97: Sun 31 Jul - Aramac to Barcaldine

Day 97: Sun 31 Jul - Aramac to Barcaldine

Towed 69km (total 8,260km towing of 10,129km driven this trip).

10 to 24 deg. A cloudy day with strong winds gusting to 40km/hr. With only a short distance to drive today, and feeling tired after the Lake Dunn Sculpture Trail yesterday, we took our time packing up and driving away from Aramac at 9:00am, arriving in Barcaldine within an hour. Being a Sunday most businesses were closed, in fact, it’s a very small town with five pubs within a short distance, but not many other businesses at all, but there were a lot caravans and campers parked in the Main Street; it’s obviously a main thoroughfare.  Check-in at our planned stay, the Barcaldine Tourist Park, is 12:00pm, so we found a spot in the main street and headed to the only cafe for a brew (and egg & bacon roll), then walked to the information centre and on to the Tree of Knowledge. We ended up checking into the caravan park early at 11:30am. Our allocated site is a nice lush green grassy drive-through site, a nice change from the red dirt and dusty sites since Mareeba almost a month ago.  After we setup, I jumped on my bike for a reccy ride around town, returning for mid afternoon coffee and home-made scones with Noel. It was still very windy outside, and a little cool, so it was the perfect opportunity for a quiet afternoon relaxing and watching a game of football. Richmond played terrible for the first half so it wasn't all that relaxing, but they did come home and steal a victory from Brisbane. At 8:30pm after dinner, I drove back into town to the Tree of Knowledge to see it at night and to take a few photos.  You get a better sense of space above the tree and within the memorial under lights - it was quite pretty and it also felt more tranquil. 


Arrival in Barcaldine

Arrival in Barcaldine

A Sculpture by Milynda Rogers depicting a shearer pledging his allegiance in the fight for justice during the shearers strike

About the sculpture

Memorial Shearer Stands and Plaques commemorating the 125th anniversary of the Great Shearers' Strike in 1891

About the Memorial Shearer Stands and Plaques


The Tree of Knowledge Memorial

The Tree of Knowledge recognised as the birthplace of the Australian Labour movement was poisoned in 2006, preserved and placed under this timber structure as a memorial


The Tree of Knowledge Memorial

The Tree of Knowledge Memorial


Marble memorial clock commemorating WW1 fallen

War Memorial

Post Office

Barcaldine Shire Hall 

Post Office and commemorative marble clock

Court House

Masonic Lodge built in 1901 built from iron and timber with a painted facade designed to make it look like brick

History of the Masonic Lodge 

Return to the Tree of Knowledge for a night time perspective

Tree of Knowledge under lights - a different vibe

Tree of Knowledge under lights

Tree of Knowledge under lights

Sculpture at night





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