The town was named in 1868 after Queensland's
second governor, Sir Samuel Blackall. The Shire of Blackall has
an area of 16,393 square kilometres and a population of 1,800. That means
the people of Blackall only have an average of 9 sq. km. each, unlike
the residents of the Booringa Shire who have 14 sq. km. each (see last
page). However, should the Blackall residents feel at all deprived, perhaps
they should think about the residents of England who have to share every
square kilometre with 368 other people. Or the residents of the City of
London where 1,961 people have to squeeze onto each square kilometre.
I rather like these comparisons, they emphasise the relative size and
'emptiness' of Australia better than mere statistics. The U.K. figures
are 1991 estimates so very out of date but they won't have changed dramatically.
The four hundred kilometre drive from Mitchell to Blackall was much like
the previous trip - empty, flat roads. The big difference was it rained
for the second two hundred kilometres. We almost had to stop and consult
the vehicle's handbook to find where the wiper switch was. Of course,
the rain was entirely predictable - I'd given the caravan a very thorough
wash the previous day.
When we arrived at the Blackall Caravan Park we found no sealed roadways.
The top two or three inches of the surface dirt was like sloppy porridge
but below that it was still dry and hard. Yuk! It was hard to walk without
slipping and your shoes sank in unless you were really careful to step
on the tufts of grass. It wasn't the best caravan park we'd ever stayed
in, but it was one of the cheapest. In celebration of Mothers' Day the
staff had cooked a lovely meal over the coals of an open fire in the park's
barbecue area.
We happily paid $12 each and enjoyed
soup and bread followed by beef, lamb, and a selection of vegies. To follow
was 'damper' with butter and honey, and lamingtons. (Brits, a lamington
is a popular Australian confection consisting of a cube of sponge cake
coated in chocolate icing and shredded coconut. They're as yummy as they
are fattening. They are frequently made to raise money for charity.) There
was also tea, straight out of a billy. Before and after the meal we were
entertained by an excellent bush poet who kept us all laughing.
And so to bed without the noise of heavy trucks pounding over
a bumpy bridge all night. Bliss.
In Blackall, as in Mitchell, the town's water came from bores drilled
2,500 feet down to the Great Artesian Basin. It rose to the surface under
its own pressure (which is what 'artesian' means). In Blackall the static
water pressure at the surface was 72 P.S.I. at a temperature of 60°
C. In other places, for example Winton, three hundred and fifty kilometres
to the north west, the water emerges at boiling point, thus water cooling
becomes much more of a consideration than water heating. The water is
pure, we were told, and required no processing. However, in Blackall it
had the same 'bad-egg' smell which we experienced at Mitchell. I was taught
at school that pure water is a transparent, odourless, tasteless,
liquid. If that's still a fact, then the bad-egg smell indicates that
the water in these towns was not 'pure', though whatever it contained
is probably harmless. The odour soon disappeared if the water was cooled
in a fridge or left to stand.
In the shower I kept turning up the cold pressure but the water was still
too hot so I tried turning down the hot pressure. The hot tap was fully
off before the temperature was just right.
The source of the water in the Great
Artesian Basin is rain which fell thousands, if not millions, of years
ago on the Great Dividing Range. It was trapped by an underground rock
layer and seeped slowly westwards at between one and five metres per
year. The Basin's capacity is estimated at 64,900 million megalitres
- enough to fill Sydney Harbour 120,000 times. Even so, the number of
bores that were drilled, some with a flow rate of eight million litres
per day, and atrocious wastage resulted in the water pressure dropping
over the years. Natural springs and some bores began to dry up. Eventually
the State and Federal Governments stepped in and developed a management
plan. They placed a moratorium on all new bores and heavily subsidised
bore owners who were prepared to eliminate wastage. Free-flowing bores
were capped and poly-pipe replaced thousands of kilometres of 'bore drains'
(open channels). That eliminated losses which could amount to 90% through
evaporation and seepage. Things improved substantially but there's still
a long way to go, and the population depending on that water continues
to increase.
We discovered for ourselves that there is a 'head in the sand' attitude
in the towns that rely on this subterranean water. As I wrote on the previous
page, we were told at the Information Centre at Mitchell that there was
enough water for 200,000 years. At their caravan park we were told to
use whatever we liked. However, while at Blackall we researched the situation
much more thoroughly and found it isn't nearly as rosy as most people
believe. In a nutshell, you can't take out more than goes in.
On our first full day we visited Blackall's foremost
tourist attraction, a steam driven wool scouring plant. The plant had
closed in 1978 when the wool growers found the Chinese could wash the
wool cheaper. After a period of deterioration, local people decided to
restore the scourer to working order, and that's how it is today. We watched
the engineer turn a valve and start up the steam engine which powered
the whole plant. As the big flywheel began to rotate, so did several roof
pulley shafts and dozens of pulleys and belts, not to mention the machines
which the belts drove. That engine smelled beautiful . . . but
I think I was the only one to think so. It did nothing for Pam, that's
for sure. After the guide moved the rest of the party on, I remained to
talk to the engineer who, as I quickly discovered, was as deaf as a post.
I asked one question, he answered another; it was like talking to a politician.
In the end I gave up and caught up with the party in time for the guide
to ask if I was a retired shearer! What had gone on in my absence?
Let me ask; would you like to see some pictures of the steam engine? Hmm,
I thought not. Outside the wool scouring shed was an artesian bore . . .
Hands up all those who are not familiar
with the expression, Beyond the Black Stump
. Okay, listen
up. In Australia, this is a very common saying meaning 'the back of beyond'
- a long way from anywhere - some distant, usually unspecified, place
in the Australian bush.
I never knew where the saying originated nor whether there ever really
was a black stump. The town of Blackall, however, claimed that not only
is there a Black Stump, but they have it! How could we resist? We had
to go and see it, if only to photograph it for you, kind and patient reader.
We followed TO THE BLACK STUMP
signs down a side street and
around the back of the school. There we found . . . this:-
But it gets worse, poor reader. I feel cheated for you! What absolutely scandalous behaviour. Just look at the last paragraph on the sign photographed below right. Not only is the Black Stump not black, it isn't even the Black Stump! How can they get away with such deception? And after raising our expectations like that.
The first paragraph on the sign either explains what the original Black
Stump was used for, or is total gobbledygook. I'm inclined towards the
latter. I was, however, greatly enlightened to discover that: The
circuit around Blackall was 27 miles square and contained an area of
729 square miles
. Well, it would, wouldn't it? What is a
principal meridional circuit traverse
? Anybody
know? And what is an Astro Station
? A
place where spaceships dock, perhaps?
On the central grass strip of the main shopping street there is another
chunk of fossilised wood on display. They don't claim this one is a
black stump, the plaque tells us that it's a conifer preserved
by opalization and silification
. Don't reach for a dictionary,
dear reader, I've checked the Oxford, Macquarie and Collins Dictionaries.
They don't list either word. Perhaps the last word should be silicification
(converted into, or impregnated with, silica). The plaque tells
us that the stump is either from the Tertiary era - 1,000,000 years
old - or from the Mesazoic era - 225,000,000 years old. (Mesazoic
is also misspelled, it should be Mesozoic)
The fossilised tree stump.
How old is it?
I'm not sure why this fossil is displayed in the centre of Blackall,
it was brought from 100 kilometres away. If they are going to display
it, perhaps they should date it a little more precisely than 1 million
or 225 million years old.
Am I being too critical? I really believe that if a town is going to
use an object as a tourist drawcard, as in the Black Stump, they should
be truthful. They should also take the trouble to check their spelling
before they make a plaque to accompany an object of interest.
By the way, did you notice the figure in the top left of the fossil
picture? It's good old Pam marching purposefully off to the nearest
newsagent to buy her English Women's Weekly. She buys the English
version because it does NOT contain who's sleeping with whom, who has
lost or gained weight, whether Prince Harry is going to Iraq, who wants
to stab Princess Mary in the back, what Kylie Minogue, Nicole Kidman
and Camilla are up to, how to lose 15 kilos in 45 minutes . . . and
so on. She will NOT, she says, waste money on such puerile drivel. Besides,
she reads them free when other women leave them in the park laundry.
I have to confess that I have been caught reading the English Women's
Weekly myself, but only to check which stairlift I'll
buy - when I get old - and the price of loose covers for the
furniture. And I might read the problem page too. Can you believe that
people actually write to a magazine to ask such stupid questions? Neither
can I. I think she writes the questions herself and then answers them
- and she still gets it wrong.
Tommy Mitchell's Memorial Clock on the main street. Unlike the tourist literature, this photo
shows both clocks telling the same time.
One banner to the
left of the clock is advertising Saint Patrick's Church Christmas Fair . . . in mid-May! The other banner is
the Pistol Club's.
During our week at Blackall the town was overrun by
'motor homes' and their smaller brothers, 'campervans'. They were all
travelling to Barcaldine, 110 kilometres to the north, where a rally
was due to be held for that type of recreational vehicle. They varied
from old, converted vans to state-of-the-art purpose-built mobile homes
constructed on a bus or truck chassis and costing anything up to $800,000.
Most of the big motor homes tow a small car behind, either connected by an
A-shaped draw bar so that the car steers itself, or with the front wheels
off the ground on a bogie. Other cars ride on a car trailer towed behind
the motor home and some have a boat mounted upside down above the car.
We've even seen a motor home where the back of the vehicle has been
constructed as a small garage. Open the rear doors, lower the ramps
and drive in the car. There's really no limit to what you can have if
money is no object.
They'll all be at Barcaldine soon; thankfully we won't be.
Before leaving Blackall we had another little
'Jayco Episode'. During our normal preparation for travel we found another
centre bolt missing from one of the caravan springs and everything out
of alignment. This wasn't a great drama, it just entailed a jolly hour
grubbing about in the dirt with one wheel off and the axle separated
from the spring. We carry the spares and have done this repair twice
previously so we were soon on our way. And as compensation, we were
given a following wind for the northerly half of the journey which reduced
our fuel consumption and, of course, the load on Billy's engine.
About a kilometre before entering Longreach we re-crossed the Tropic
of Capricorn so we were back in the tropics . . . just.
We were making a return visit to the Gunnadoo Caravan Park where
we were to remain for three weeks. I'd better admit, up front, the reason
for remaining so long. The Qantas Founders' Outback Museum is situated
at Longreach and that museum has a huge Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet on display,
but that wasn't the reason. The Museum also has a 1942 vintage Douglas
DC-3 Dakota that used to fly under the Qantas banner, but that wasn't
the reason either.
City of Bunburyat the Qantas Founders Outback Museum.
Not long ago, the very first Boeing 707 to be
purchased by Qantas was discovered on an airfield in Britain. It had
passed through several hands since Qantas sold it and had finally been
'put out to pasture'. Since it was the first jet airliner ever to be
owned by an Australian airline it had some historical significance
and it would make a valuable addition to the Museum's collection. A
team of volunteers offered to restore it to airworthy condition - an
incredibly large labour of love - so it could be repainted in the Qantas
livery of the period and be flown back to Australia. And that is just
what happened.
The 707 flew to Sydney and was due to fly into Longreach in late 2006.
Ongoing delays ensued, the reasons for which vary according to whom
you speak. The real reason, of course, was that Pam and I weren't able
to get to Longreach until mid-May 2007 so Qantas management rescheduled the
arrival for 10th June to allow us some leeway. But whatever you do, dear
Reader, don't mention that to anybody else because the residents of
Longreach are already pretty p----d off over the delays.
At Easter there had been great excitement in the town when the 707 appeared overhead and
made several approaches to the runway . . . then it flew back to Sydney.
The runway at Longreach is technically far too short and far too narrow
to accommodate a Boeing 707. When the 747 landed it did so carrying
minimal fuel and after being considerably lightened. Additionally, it
landed with its outboard engines shut down to avoid gravel being ingested
as those engines overhung the runway edge.
On our previous visit to Longreach we had seen the very sad and dilapidated
Dakota outside the museum. At that time there were unspecific plans
to do some restoration work. On our second visit we found the work underway
with the tail raised and scaffolding around the aircraft.
The cabin top was being
blasted and her fuselage was being rubbed back. Her rudder trim tab
was still missing, however.
During our stay we called at the airfield several times to monitor the Dak's progress. It was parked right outside the window of the Museum's café which served excellent coffee, so going there was no hardship. We heard on the radio that its skin was being blasted with bicarbonate of soda! We had thought it was being painted when we saw the white spray, but not so. A rudder trim tab appeared from somewhere then some Qantas sign writers turned up and restored the original registration, along with other insignia of the time. The scaffolding was then removed but work continued on the interior. They hoped to have her open for display on the big day when the 707 arrived.
Changing the subject entirely, we found the Gunnadoo Caravan Park almost unrecognisable.
A lot of improvements had been made since our last visit and it was
almost full every night. On one occasion in November of 2005, Pam and
I had consisted of 50% of the population of this huge park.
This year we were treated to the sight of a stagecoach galloping through the park. Okay,
okay, the horses were galloping . . .
We couldn't resist. A few days later we rode the stage coach on a tour of the town then a gallop across the common. Pam sat inside and I rode shotgun . . .
I didn't know the lady sitting next to me but she
loved horses and the coach driver gave her the reins from time to time.
The man in the back seat decided to rest his arm on the wheel as we
galloped across the common - but only the once. The horses, quarter
Clydesdales, were called Joh and Flo after a charismatic State Premiere
(now dead) and his wife.
As always we got contradictions, misinformation and confusion when we
enquired about certain things. One was the origin of the town's name
and another was the source of the town's water. Regarding the latter,
certainly water is drawn from the nearby Thomson River, but is it supplemented
with bore water? We received various answers but the probable truth
is that one part of the town is on river water (cold) and the remainder
on artesian water (hot). Some claimed all properties were served with
both hot and cold supplies - a good if expensive idea. Even
the spelling of the Thomson River varied. Well, it did on our map. The
stretch nearest the town was labelled the Thompson River. If that's
where the locals swim, we can guess where the 'p' came from.
One day we met a helicopter pilot in the pub. He was engaged on a government
contract to measure variations in the earth's gravity. This was done
by an extremely sensitive instrument which was basically a weighing
machine, presumably with an internal weight. The pilot's job was to
place the helicopter on the ground at the exact location given to him.
His passenger would then hop out with the instrument and place it in
position using a G.P.S. that was accurate to within two centimetres.
(That's some accuracy. Alice is only accurate to four metres at best.)
A gravity reading would be recorded and the helicopter would move to
the next location and the process would be repeated, all
day every day. Gradually a huge matrix of gravity values would be amassed.
The theory is that where there is a large body of denser than normal
material present below the ground, the pull of gravity on the surface
will increase by a miniscule amount. This data will enable ore bodies
to be located and a good idea of their size to be calculated. Clever
stuff.
We might as well move on to Page 50, dear Reader. See you there.
Footnote: This re-working of Page 49 was completed on 14 May 2013. It conforms to HTML5 and CSS level 3.