Matilda Way Melbourne – Cunnamulla – Karumba 3,096 km
Views from Australian Age of Dinosaurs, Winton
From Barringun on the Queensland/ New South Wales border where the Kidman Way from Melbourne ends, the Matilda Way takes you all the way North to Karumba on the Gulf of Carpentaria.
Then you’ll pass through Charleville and Tambo to reach Blackall, where shearer Jackie Howe sheared 321 sheep in 7 hours and 40 minutes in 1892!
Along the way there you’ll pass through the birth places of many Australian icons and legends: Waltzing Matilda, Qantas, Stockmen and country pubs to name but a few.
Past Barcaldine, you’ll come to Longreach, where you can visit the Qantas Founders Museum and the Stockman’s Hall of Fame. Then travel on to Winton, near where Banjo Paterson wrote Waltzing Matilda.
First, you’ll pass though Cunnamulla, where as well as the Big Fella statue you can learn about the great artesian basin at the Artesian Time Tunnel.
You should visit the Qantilda Museum to learn about the real story behind the song. If you’re there in winter you may be lucky enough to be in town for
24 Wot’s on in Queensland Highways, Byways & Roads Less Travelled
the annual Vision Splendid Outback Film Festival. Next is Cloncurry, where the Royal Flying Doctor Service began in 1928. Next is Normanton, with its Purple Pub and at the end of the way is Karumba near where Burke, Wills, King and Gray ended their epic trek in 1861. All along the way, listen to the yarns and meet up with bush characters at the many historic pubs that dot the route, and peer into the night sky for a million star experience.
