20220607 We sat around a lovely fire last night with a fellow camper talking about travel experiences or Des telling some of his stories that had us all laughing. Waking to a chilly morning in Surat so after a hot cuppa followed by breakfast we decide to rick the cold and go exploring this town some more, and within this campground there’s stories of the history that was created right on this site.
Sipping my cup off herb tea while I wait for that call from Des, Lee it’s ready then I crawl out of bed to be greeted with a nice hot breakfast.
How app, these pair walking over the Balonne River Bridge with these pair speaking Balonne, not really I just thought I would throw that in.😜
The Balonne River is 479 km but did you know it’s the Condamine River which rises on the Darling Downs in Queensland then flows past Dalby and onward to Chinchilla, then flows south-west to the plains, where it meets the Dogwood Creek and becomes the Balonne River, near Surat, wow, what a river system we have.
The water's gone and the bridge is open, or do these guys know something we don't, all I know is there must be heaps of green frogs out this way.
After taking this photo of the Blue tree I noticed what looked like a little leprechaun standing at the bottom and when I showed Desie we broke into laughter, even Wendy had a giggle.
The Blue tree symbolises mental health and ask: "r u ok?"
It’s called the Freedom Tree and is dedicated to the men and women who enlisted in any theatre of war. Inspired by a poem called "They Fought To Keep Me Free". The tree`s photographic panels represent sections of leaves and the design allows the panels to move and shimmer in the sun, as eucalypt tree leaves do. A verse from "For the Fallen" by Laurence Binyon famously known as "The Ode" is described as at the heart of all rites of the RSL". This verse was chosen to outline the canopy of the tree as a constant surrounding tribute to the soldiers.
The Surat Aboriginal Interpretative Shelter tell the story of Mundy/Cleven camp where many indigenous people lived in humpies until the late 1960s. The humpy was about 10-20 square metres and were built of corrugated iron and canvas. The Surat Aboriginal people were not permitted to live in the town until the 1967 national referendum that ended separate laws and controls for Aboriginal people, but the children played together at the camp.
Nellie ‘Dungli’ Edwards was a Mandandanji woman, and very much a memorable characters of Surat who during the the 20th century worked as a midwife for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal women. She also worked as a domestic in family homes in town. There was a birthing tree there, and a washpool, but there is now no record of the exact sites.
20220608 It’s the State of Origin so our plan is to head into town and have dinner at the pub and watch the game with all the locals but our exploring isn’t over yet so we head back to town to do some more site seeing and have a coffee and maybe sneak in a cake.
The Shire Hall with it’s Art Deco style was built in 1929 which was coincided a brave move by some as it was at the heart of the depression. The hall has now been heritage listed and if you go out the back there’s shower’s and toilets at your disposal.
The local Butcher where you can buy country killed meat, Des brought a couple of chops and they were the best chops I’ve had in, I don’t know how long.
Wendy and I dress up for a night on the town at the local pub for dinner and to watch the State of Origin with all the locals and we decided to drag this hobo along for the ride, “Go Queensland”.
Well dinner was lovely but after dinner everyone left and we were the only one’s left to support the Queensland team so we brought another drink then we felt guilty so when the barmaid offered to take drive us home we jumped at it, well it was better than walking home in the cold. 16 to 10
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