Our inbuilt alarm had us up and ready to go by 8:30am as we headed for the Stockman’s Hall of Fame, a mere 1km away – Kev & Maz even walked! We were booked in for 9am and started with a very good 30-minute video that gave us an overview of the bush culture, history etc. We were then each given an iPod and sent to the main gallery where you could go at your own pace, listening to the stories that interested you, looking at displays, videos, and so on. It was fabulous! A real range of topics from the past and into the present. It talked about the pioneers, including women, the tough bush drovers, the stockmen, including Aboriginal stockmen who really got a raw deal, the travelling entertainments – music, shows, rodeos, boxing troupes, and so much more.
We then met up again a bit before 11:30am to go and see the Lachie Cosser Outback Stockman Show which was also fabulous. He’s a real showman, a real entertainer, as well as obviously being a great stockman. That went for an hour, and we were thoroughly entertained. He writes his own songs and sings and plays the guitar. He said he was performing tomorrow night at the RSL so we have booked in there for dinner after our big day out at Winton. (As you will discover later, these plans have now changed).
The boys then headed off for the races, Maz & Vicky
walked back to grab some lunch and go to the races, and I needed to grab a
small something to take out to Alan and Lyndal’s this afternoon so mosied on in
to town and then did another 40 minutes of report writing before going to pick Gaz
up at the races to head off for afternoon tea with Alan & Lyndal.
Alan and Lyndal live about 10km outside town and Alan’s brilliant directions saw us arrive on time and without getting lost – no small feat! We introduced ourselves as we had never met before and were soon like old friends. Alan showed us his fabulous wood turning efforts which he is readying to enter into the Longreach Show next week. It was very impressive. They have a lovely old home, circa 1911, that they had transported from Blackall to this block some time ago. It’s a true classic with beautiful wide verandas all the way around and a very sensible design that works well in this climate. We sat and chatted for an hour or two, had a cuppa and some cake and generally caught up and reminisced. They were lovely people and it was very generous of them to invite us into their home.
It was then back to do some laundry and join with the others for another companionable evening. Kev & Maz’s salmon spaghetti followed by stewed fruit was top notch as usual and the wine and beer flowed freely. Gaz and I have decided, after much thought, to leave Longreach two days early to try to outrun the worst of the rain that is heading this way. The stress of the windscreen wiperless situation has become too much given that the latest forecast is for 20-40mm on the day we are due to travel. It means we miss the scheduled trip to Winton tomorrow and the Cobb & Co coach ride on Monday … but, hey, peace of mind is a big thing! And, as Lyndal said today when we mentioned we were considering it, it means we need to come back! So, looks like it’s an early farewell to Longreach tomorrow.
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