Western Queensland Holiday Destinations
Cloncurry
The
picturesque
hillsides
surrounding
Cloncurry
are
scattered
with
ghost
towns
and
the
discarded
remains
from
copper
mining.
Copper
mining
was
a major
industry
from
1860s
until
the
early
in the
20 century
when
the
copper
prices
fell.
Richmond
Situated
on the
banks
of the
Flinders,
Queensland's
longest
river,
this
former
gold
mining
centre
was
established
by two
pioneers
from
the
Richmond
River
district
of New
South
wales.
Rich
in fossil
deposits,
the
remains
of various
unique
dinosaurs
including
Kronosaurus,
Plesiosaur
and
Ankylosaur
have
been
found
in the
area.
Mitchell
Named
after
the
famous
explorer
Mitchell
is the
birthplace
of Australia's
shortest-serving
Prime
Minister,
Frank
Forde.
It provides
one
of the
main
access
points
to the
Mount
Moffatt
area
of the
Carnarvon
National
Park.
Tambo
Tambo
is the
oldest
town
in the
Central
West
and
wooden
buildings
on the
main
street
erected
in the
1860-70s
are
still
standing
today.
The
former
Post
Office
is now
a museum
and
home
of the
Tambo
Teddy
Workshop.
Longreach
Longreach,
the
largest
town
in the
far
west,
was
the
site
of Qantas's
first
office
and
the
old
hanger
is still
part
of the
airport
together
with
Australia's
first
aircraft
factory.
The
town
is the
major
trucking
centre
for
the
area.
Mount
Isa
Mount
Isa
is the
world's
largest
city
in terms
of area,
covering
10 977km,
and
is one
of the
country's
main
mining
towns.
The
mine
is the
largest
single
producer
of lead
and
silver
in the
world,
the
largest
producer
of copper
in Australia
and
Queensland's
largest
single
industrial
enterprise.
Mount
Isa
is dependent
on the
mine
as one
in five
of the
population
work there. John
Campbell
first
discovered
ore
in 1923
at a
site now
marked
with
an obelisk
and
the
town
has
since
become
the
first
company
town
in Australia
with
a population
of 27
000.
Winton
Winton
is famous
for
its
milestones
in Australian
history
being
the
home
of Waltzing
Matilda,
Australia's
unofficial
national
anthem,
and
the
birthplace
of Qantas
(Queensland
and
Northern
Territory
Aerial
Services)
with
the
first
board
meeting
held
at the
Winton
Club
in 1920.
Birdsville
Birdsville
grew
as a
centre
for
moving
stock
south
and
as a
custom
post
and
in its
heyday
had
three
hotels,
a custom
house
and
many
houses.
Today
with
only
one
pub
and
a store
the
town
is famous
for
its
racetrack,
a lonely
and
bumpy
drive
south
to Marlee
in South
Australia.
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