20240530 Qld Yelarbon

20240530 As we turn the bend into Yelarbon it was the new Silo Art that jumped out at us, Des had no choice but to stop as I grabbed my iPad and jumped from the van, Wow! Was my first thought. Yelarbon is a small town on the Cunningham Highway on the border of Queensland and New South Wales. We found it was a quite pleasant town with a small population of only 313, a small school, a pub and a cafe.

Spectacular, and the only set so far in Australia to have this unique shape of two tall and six shorter silos all in row. The vision was to create an oasis in Yelarbon which sits on the edge of a spinifex desert. The town has now been in the grips of a drought for over two years, the mural concept titled ‘When the rain comes’ depicts a young boy at play, cooling off in the Yelarbon Lagoon with a paper boat that is set to float across the lagoon which will one day stretch across all shorter six silos. The paper boat is made from historical newspaper remnants that were found in the old Yelarbon jail, symbolising the history of the region and the creativity needed to drive future endeavours.

This old Garage that once served the town and passers by but is now just a reminder of what Service Stations were once like.

This would make a good coffee shop right in front of the mural, the shed is still on the block as is the office and outbuildings set on almost 2 acres, the property has 4 titles and the site has fantastic exposure to the Cunningham Highway.

Des and I walked to the pub, just for something to do, we meet a couple of the locals so I asked about the burnt out truck, the story goes like this, A Raji, (Indian) drove in to the truck stop with his wheel smoking so the Indian jumped from his truck that was loaded with goods and unhitched his cabin just before it burst into flames but told the Police it happened while sleeping.

I’m assuming this relic was rescued from when the first Oasis Hotel burned down in 1986. I love to cook on these old wood stove’s, it brings back some good memories of our time at Lara, when I used the wood stove daily.

An interesting piece as you enter the Pub.

Various owners/licencees ran the hotel over the years, adding to and altering the building. On Friday 14 March 1986, the Oasis Hotel burnt down as Halley's Comet was passing by. Alerted by a passing "truckie", the publicans and the only boarder escaped, although the boarder suffered severe burns. The Yelarbon Fire Brigade responded and although the hotel was completely gutted, the living quarters were saved. A temporary bar was then set up in the old Bank of NSW building next door whilst the new hotel/motel was built.

This mural you will find at the Oasis Hotel when you drop in for a nice cold beer or one of their delicious meals.

At 8,320 km, the Dingo Barrier Fence was the longest manmade fence in the world when it was constructed. Starting at the Great Australian Bight in the south-west of South Australia, the fence ran across to the north-west New South Wales border then into Queensland and up to Cloncurry before starting south, where it terminated at Yelarbon. Today, sheep flocks in Queensland, New South Wales, and South Australia are still protected by a slightly shorter version of the fence. An old strainer post in Yelarbon now marks the end of the original route. You’ll also find a replica of the traditional fence along with sculptures of the dingoes that the fence aimed to keep out.

A retreat in the woods surrounded by a lake.

Our fury friends checking us out we approach.

A Great Stay