Date: May 2005
Location: Western Downs, Queensland Australia
Shaun O'Dowd discovered a whole town that dressed in drag, met a craftsman who couldn't explain what he does and was subject to fart jokes during a drive trip to Queensland's Western Downs.
In a small country town far out on Queensland's Western Downs, some paramilitary snipers were sitting in gum trees above a quiet street. The object of their gun sights was a gorgeous but otherwise innocuous Edwardian mansion.
They were there to protect Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, who was due to visit
the Winnathoola mansion in Roma. Unfortunately,
the Queen cancelled the Roma leg of her 2002 Australian visit at the last minute.
Winnathoola owners David and Cherrie Taylor tell incredible tales of the preparations, such as the snipers sitting in the trees across the road and of what the paramilitary types told them would happen should the Queen suddenly be placed in danger.
They said they would come through the walls in 12 seconds flat, push us all to the ground and hold guns to our heads, David said. They said we should just go with the flow.
Open to visitors, Winnathoola is a sprawling mansion with lovely grounds. David and Cherrie take on the personas of local historical figures and dress in period costume as they preside over morning or afternoon tea.
This is what a drive through the Western Downs is like. All kinds of gems, intrigues and oddities come up.
For example, The Big Rig is an attraction with impressive displays of old and modern mining equipment, outlining how Australia's first discoveries of oil and gas occurred in Roma.
Make sure you take in the sound, motion and light show held at night. There are plenty of fart jokes (natural gas - get it?) to keep the children amused.
South along the Great Inland Way is the small but lively town of Surat,
population 500, with its amazing Cobb and Co Changing station.
It has great historical displays, including a Cobb and Co stagecoach, and a 25,000
litre aquarium housing several species of local freshwater fish. The building
is significant because the last Cobb and Co stagecoach in Australia
ran from Surat to nearby Yuleba
in 1924.
Qantas was flying in the air and we were still running a stagecoach, one Surat resident quipped.
Local John Howard runs coach tours around this pretty town and district, which lies on the banks of the Balonne River. A highlight is the ancient Astor Theatre with its original canvas seats. The theatre is soon to be renovated under the federal government's cultural heritage projects program.
Apparently, a screening of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert was staged one
night and the whole town showed up in drag, ensuring there would have been a few
bemused visitors that evening.
Meanwhile, further south in St George, Steve Margaritis must be the only man in the world who has created something so unique he can't explain it to anyone.
In fact, he was willing to put his amazing creations on display at the Sydney 2000 Olympics but no one on the Olympic committee had any idea what he was talking about.
It's the only display in the world you can't explain to anyone, he lamented when I visited his tiny store.
It seems Steve was haunted by this Olympic rejection. He now has a piece of paper with a summary of what he does, which he hands to visitors.
It's as simple as this: he carves emu eggs. This might not seem fascinating in itself but when you consider that there are at least 10 colours between an emu eggs inner and outer shell, that each egg is unique in colour and that Steve is a master craftsman, the results are incredible.
The egg-shell layers range from dark green to greeny grey to bluey grey and Steve creates the designs by carving down to the colour he needs.
He's been doing it for 40 years. There are portraits of his daughter at different ages (eight months, five years and then 22 with a baby), an egg portraying Australia II's America's Cup win in 1983, one displaying the obligatory drover and his dog, another one commemorating the 1982 Brisbane Commonwealth Games and a rather macabre egg portraying the September 11 attacks on New York's twin towers.
Steve's store is called The Unique Egg, of course.
Taking a detour from the Great Inland way and heading 64kms west from St George, you'll come across the Rosehill Aviaries, located on a 52,000 acre cattle and sheep property run by John and Elaine Beardmore.
About 600 birds, mostly Australian, are housed in 80 aviaries. It's a marvel to see the sheer colours and diversity of Australian birds in this precious collection that was built-up over 50 years by John.
As Elaine put it: It's a hobby that got out of hand and then the locals came out and looked at them so we opened it for everyone.
Make sure you sample Elaine's delicious homemade scones.
One last word. The Western Downs is peppered with some great wineries with pleasant cellar doors, including Villacoola at Surat and Riversands in St George. They make good, appropriately-priced table wines.
For more information:
Toowoomba and Golden West Tourism Association
Tel +61 7 4632 1988
- By Shaun O'Dowd
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