We’re on the lands of the Yirandali people tonight, in the area they knew as Mokana (what is now known as Hughenden). We’d also like to acknowledge the Wunumara people, whose land we travelled through today as we headed east through Cloncurry and Julia Creek. We’d like to pay our respects to the elders of both groups – past, present and those leaders being raised up.
It was a fairly long day of driving today – another 500km+ day. After packing up and finally farewelling Mount Isa (2 days later than planned), we headed along the Barkly Highway again. The first stop was at Mary Kathleen – an abandoned mining town that was built in the 1950s, just to the north of the Barkly Hwy, about 45 mins out of Mount Isa. All that is left are the roads (barely) that lead you around the town, and a bunch of concrete patches where the buildings once were. It was fascinating to look at the town map that was near the town square and then wander around where the buildings once stood. Crazy to think that the prime of the town was 1956-63 when the population was 1000 people – but as soon as 1964 arrived and the mining contract was completed, most people walked away and only a dozen families remained. It had a second lease on life from ’74 to ’82, but it was to a lesser extent.
We drove on to Cloncurry, which is something we really hoped to spend more time at than just passing through. We headed to their information centre for a brief look around, and then the kids had a bit of a play in the playground before some morning tea.
We headed onto Julia Creek, about another 90 minutes down the road. First stop was in a really nice park and picnic area in the centre of town for some sandwiches – it was nice to be able to have a bit of a breather here, knowing that Hughenden was less than 3 hours down the road. After lunch we wandered over to At The Creek, Julia Creek’s visitor centre. They have some really wonderful displays out the front – they’re definitely very proud of their town, and speak about the water, country and people being the keys to their town. We then headed for a wander back down the main street – there are plenty of signs out the front of a bunch of buildings, explaining when they were originally built, or what their original purpose was. We eventually got down to the Duncan McIntyre Museum, named after one of the original settlers. It’s a small, but free museum, housing plenty of memorabilia from around the town, and telling a lot of stories. It was certainly interesting enough for the post-lunch time before we got back on the road.
Our time in Hughenden will be short-lived unfortunately. We’d intended on being here two nights, and getting a chance to explore a few things here. But with the extra couple of days in Mount Isa, we’re now only here overnight. Tomorrow morning, we’ll be heading off super early to make it to Undara for lunch!
