Winton is a town in central
west Queensland
, Australia, located
northwest of Longreach
. The main industries of the area are sheep
and cattle raising.
The town was named by postmaster, Robert
Allen, in 1876 after his place of birth Winton, Dorset
. At the 2006
census, Winton had a population of
980.
Qantas
Winton was one of the founding towns of the Australian airline
Qantas. The first board meeting was held at
the Winton Club on 10 February 1921.
Waltzing Matilda
Winton is intimately involved in the story of the popular
Australian folk song, "
Waltzing
Matilda", which had its first performance in the North Gregory
Hotel in the town. The song was written locally on a property
beside the famous
billabong. The North
Gregory Hotel has been ravaged by fire three times. The Waltzing
Matilda Centre is the first museum dedicated to a song.
'Banjo' Paterson wrote the song whilst
holidaying at Dagworth Station. The Waltzing Matilda Centre opened
in 1998.
Dinosaurs
The area surrounding the town has yielded a number of
dinosaur fossils, including 'Elliot', a
sauropod. In 2009, three dinosaur
genera,
Australovenator,
Wintonotitan and
Diamantinasaurus, were discovered near
the town.
Royal Theatre
The historic Royal Theatre is one of the few remaining open air
picture theatres in Australia and home to the World's Largest
Deckchair which was originally constructed in Victoria by the
Freemasons Taskforce in 2002 and donated to Winton and the Royal
Theatre by the members of that taskforce in April 2005.
Great Artesian Basin
Winton is situated on the
Great
Artesian Basin. The water supply bursts to the surface at 83C
degrees and is then channeled through cooling ponds before being
distributed to the town. Sulphur gas gives the water an 'eggy'
smell.
Outback Festival
Bi-annually, Winton hosts a week-long outback festival in the main
street featuring an iron man race, live bands, competitions and
more.
Arno's Wall
Arno's wall is a strange mixture of art and architecture. Cemented
contents of the wall include rusted lawnmower parts, boat
propellers, vintage typewriters and sewing machines and even a
couple of complete motorbikes.
The Proposition
The 2005 film
The
Proposition was filmed entirely in Winton and the
surrounding area.
Winton Timeline
- 1848 Ludwig Leichhardt
explores region
- 1858 Augustus Gregory searches
for Leichhardt
- 1861 Landsborough searches for Burke
and Wills
- 1866 First European settlers
- 1876 First hotel/store built
- 1879 Town gazetted
- 1880 First doctor arrives, Cobb and
Co services begin, Police station established
- 1881 First bank opens
- 1882 First school opens
- 1885 First newspaper
- 1888 Opal discovered
- 1891 Great Shearers' Strike
- 1894 Second shearers' strike
- 1895 First public performance of 'Waltzing Matilda'
- 1899 First train arrives
- 1900 Worst drought
- 1906 Record floods
- 1909 Telephone connected
- 1911 Open-air picture theatre opens
- 1920 Qantas formed
- 1928 Bert Hinkler visits
- 1942 Former US President Lyndon
B. Johnson was on board an
aircraft, as a crewmember, which did a forced landing at
Carisbrooke Station
- 1946 North Gregory Hotel destroyed by fire for 3rd time
- 1958 World Rodeo
Championships
- 1962 Dinosaur Trackways discovered at the site now known as
Lark Quarry Conservation Park
- 1972 First Outback Festival
- 1989
Winton to Cloncurry
Highway sealed
- 1995 Waltzing Matilda
Centenary
- 1996 The Agitator newspaper appears
- 1998 Waltzing Matilda Centre opens
- 1999 “Elliot”, the largest dinosaur find in Australia was
discovered by a local grazier.
- 2002 Lark Quarry building opened in August.
- 2004 Lark Quarry receives National Heritage Listing.
- 2009 3 new dinosaurs discovered - "Banjo", "Matilda",
"Clancy"
See also
References
External links
Wikis
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