Talk around the campfire
Submitted: Wednesday, Feb 18, 2009 at 21:48
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carlj
At a camping trip the question was asked where does the Queensland outback start? It is an open question, I don't think there is a wrong or right answer
Reply By: Member - Ruth D (QLD) - Thursday, Feb 19, 2009 at 07:43
Thursday, Feb 19, 2009 at 07:43
If you go to
Roma there is a
sign stating 'the Start of the Outback', when you go to
Blackall you can see '
the Black Stump' - these
places now have bitumen roads to and from. When I was a kid going to
Charleville on the dirt road, which finished at
Roma I think, was a HUGE adventure. Having now lived in
Birdsville for about 14 years - and wearing a shirt with the motto -"This is the real outback" - I'm still not sure. I certainly don't feel isolated here but I have lived in central Queensland 10 klms from a small town and felt totally isolated at times.
Possibly when you get off the bitumen - maybe that's the start - when driving back to
Birdsville as soon as you turn off the bitumen outside
Windorah onto the dirt - with about 300 klms left to
Birdsville - that starts to feel like '
home'. When you live without mobile phones on a day to day basis - running out of phone range doesn't really make much difference. (Travelling to
Brisbane it's a nuisance when coming into mobile range and the phone goes off and you can't find it or work out what the noise is).
I agree with using the Great Dividing Range as a marker - maybe it's because
Toowoomba is like a big country town - lots of former outback people live there.
I can't help wondering if the outback is now further west - not even the Simpson - but I'm wondering if it's in western NT and WA (
places I haven't explored yet).
AnswerID:
349814
Reply By: Member - Jeff O (VIC) - Thursday, Feb 19, 2009 at 08:10
Thursday, Feb 19, 2009 at 08:10
Don Cooney ,author of Bells of the Australian Bush,and a good mate of
mine, was raised and lived out near
Eulo
I visited him on his son in laws property a couple of weeks back and he showed me an ancient
sand dune. Don belIeves the Outback begins here.The Dune is about 5 meters high and many many meters long . The property is about 100 k Sth West of
Eulo.
His book has some good yarns about the early days in that area as
well a history of bush bells.
Jeff.O
AnswerID:
349817
Reply By: On Patrol & TONI - Thursday, Feb 19, 2009 at 08:22
Thursday, Feb 19, 2009 at 08:22
Hi,
I'm not sure the "outback" as a geographical thing exists as we thought we knew it, I think it's more an emotional thing.
When your in a place where time is unimportant, the people are warm and accepting of others and a spirit of "mateship exists" & your not surrounded by concrete and glass, you've got room to breath, then I think you are in your idea of "The Outback".
But Wayne's daughter hit it on the head with her comments about "Mc D's" so that makes
Alice Springs no longer part of the outback!!!!.
JMHO, Colin.
AnswerID:
349820