Day 2 Dalby to Moonie to Meandarra to Surat and to St George

Well if we haven't traveled some of  the worst roads in Southern Queensland, I will eat my hat!

Horrible, rough, bumpy, they are an actual disgrace, in my opinion.  And flies - apparently they are looking for protein!  We have of course, mastered the "Royal Wave".

Dalby was a bit cold this morning, 10 degrees.  Then the day progressed to 36 but the heat was so dry. About 10% humidity, dries the skin.  The dry heat is not that bad.

We stayed at the Dalby Tourist Park, and had steak in the camp kitchen last night.  The cabins were showing that they must be well used!  A bit different to our last stay there.

On the road, and we checked out Dalby, where every second house, so it seems is for sale.  A friend later commented that in 2014 there were 250 houses for sale, might be more now!

First stop was 28 Pratten Street, Dalby, where the Herron's lived until early 1950's.  The house is for sale, and changed dramatically.  All the railings have been removed.

Next door was the home of the Hales.  Still friends with Clova all these years later.  My sister-in-law then filled me in with some family gossip.  Apparently the Russell family who own Jimbour House owed dad for some upholstery that he did, and the bill has never been paid!  We thought for a second of perhaps playing "debt collector".

Another major problem in this part of the world, is the lack of internet service.  Perhaps it is our Outback folk who should be jumping up and down for better service, as this is 2016 not 1976.

Despite a couple of directional discrepancies, we eventually came to Moonie, and stopped for morning tea.  Inside the caravan this time, because the flies were really thick.  And to think that it will be worse when we get to Canberra!

Moonie means oil.   

But some interesting facts.  Some kind soul introduced prickly pear bushes to feed the cattle, way back in 1843.  It must have liked the conditions because by 1928 there was 60 million acres of prickly pear on the land!  Probably covered an area more than the size of most European countries.  Thanks to a beetle, the prickly pear was conquered by 1930.

By the early 1960's oil was being drilled, and Moonie boasts to be the largest oil field in Australia.

The land is also rich with agriculture, wheat, beans canola, cotton and sunflower are seasonal crops.  Wheat is bought by the Australian Wheat Board, and after leaving Moonie, we saw a large number of semi-trailers on the road.

We saw a sign which read Anzac Museum - 35klms away.  Anzac Museum?  not in the guide books.

On we drove to Meandarra.  What a pleasant surprise, and a very well presented Museum dedicated to the locals who served.  Their displays are brilliant.  

The Me an Darra Statue outside the Anzac Museum

We might be a couple of days early for Remembrance Day, but does it matter? We should never forget.  The Display featured some information on where my father fought, in the South West Pacific Theatre, when he was in the British Army.

It also features fantastic displays about the Vietnam War, and showcases the local people who fought.
Of interest was a person from Cassisilis Station.  That station was owned by the Jillett Family at one time.

But the most interesting piece that I found and which will require further research, is of a belt invented by a British soldier, who lost his arm.  He designed a belt to hold his sword.

Another cousin, quite close to my heart, also had no use of his arm, and I wonder if he also wore the same belt when he dressed one January morning in 1879 in South Africa!  My Durnford cousins would relate to this.

Lunch in the park, swatting flies, with the bread drying out in the no humidity, next to the Brigalow Creek Camping site.  Now picture this, caravans with powered sites are $10 per night, and the maximum time to stay is 14 days.  But the toilet and shower block is on the other side of the main highway!   Huge grain haulage trucks rumble through very regularly.


Then it was off to Surat.  To the Cobb and Co Museum.  Very well presented, in what was a stop for the coaches.  These stops were 25 miles apart, as the horses could only travel that far.

 In the back room, they had a Cobb and Coach the same as 2nd Great Grandfather Montague John Felton Durnford, drove, and of a style that he also built when a coachbuilder.

Then it was on to Pelican Rest Caravan Park in St George.  Out cabin is better fitted than last nights.
This one has heaps of power points, so maybe there will be no flat phones tomorrow!