Winton Things to Do

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The Waltzing Matilda Centre is a museum complex that was created in order to commemorate and honour the song Waltzing Matilda (see my General Tip/Favourites).
The song was written in Winton and first performed in the local North Gregory Hotel. The writer of the text was Banjo Patterson, a famous Australian poet.

What I liked very much about this museum was that it showed how the song was written, I learned a lot about life in an outback town like Winton at the turn of the century (the song was written in 1895). You learn all about the people connected to the song: not only Banjo Paterson, but also Bob and Christina Macpherson. They were friends of the poet and he visited them in Winton. Bob was the one who showed Paterson the Combo Waterhole which served as an inspiration for the song, while Christina later provided the tune.
The museum tells you a lot about the lives of those people, which I found very interesting. Other displays were about the actual swagmen living in the country in those days.

There is also a theatrette which shows the story as it is told in the song, and a holographic show where famous Australians tell you what the song means to them. Stars that take part are actor Russell Crowe and singers Slim Dusty and John Williamson. I have to admit that from this point on, it became a little too nationalistic for my taste... Too much self-praise becomes a little embarassing after some time.

There is also a small regional gallery with changing exhibitions, and the Qantilda Museum. Entry to both is included in the ticket to the Waltzing Matilda Cenre.

Fee: 21AUD for adults, 18AUD concession, 10,50AUD for children, 50AUD for a family. There are also combination passes with other attractions.

Opening hours: April to October 09.00am to 05.00pm daily, November to March 09.00am to 05.00pm from monday to friday, 09.00 to 03.00pm on weekends.

The Qantilda Musum is a small museum next to the Waltzing Matilda Centre that is dedicated to the founding of Qantas Airlines in the 1920.
While Qantas moved to Longreach in 1922 and built their first planes there, it was registered in Winton and the first board meetings were held in the local Winton Club.

In the picture, you see a model of one of the very early planes, and there is more memorabilia connected to the early days of the airline.

However, there are also many other exhibits on display. You can see a lot of historical things like old machinery, clothing, pictures and a huge bottle collection. There are also some old railway carriages and steam locomotive.

I must admit that although usually I love small regional museums like this, apart from the exhibition about Qantas I did not find it particularly interesting. There were not many explanations about the things I saw, and in general it felt a bit unlovingly displayed. However, the entry fee is included in your ticket to the Waltzing Matilda Centre, so just go and have a look!

The Royal Theatre is a historic cinema and now one of the last still operating outdoor cinemas in Australia. There is a small museum inside that tells you about the cinema's history, and you can also see the outdoor space and the old canvas chairs that are still used. In one corner, there is a very large canvas chair, according to the owner it is a world record and the largest canvas chair on earth.

If you don't go to watch a movie, you can see the museum and the outdoor space for a small fee. I found it to be very charming.

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All over town there are small memorials and sculptures that are reminders of the town's history. Most are connected to either Waltzing Mathilda or the founding of Qantas.

In the main picture, you see an artificial billabong located in the middle of Elderslie Street, a recreation of the famous billabong where the jolly swagman camped by. On the other hand it also reminds of Winton's origin - the town was originally called Pelican Waterhole and has its origins in a billabong now a few kilometres away from the township. You can see some pelican statues in the back of the picture.

The second picure shows a memorial Cairn, also in Elderslie Street, that was erected by Qantas in order to honor the town where the airline was founded.

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In the evening I took another short stroll around the town centre, precisely to the end of Elderslie Street, and I saw a beautiful sunset. It was not even planned by me to see it, I just happened to be there at the right time.
I found this most fascinating: To be able to see such a beautiful sunset, just a few metres away from my accomodation, at the edge of a town!

So be sure not to miss the sunset if you go to Winton - it will be a memorable experience.

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Together with its neighbouring town Longreach, Winton is the founding place of Qantas Airlines. In contrast to Longreach, it does not have any museum connected to the airline, but it has one other place that you can visit: The Winton Club. It was here that the first Qantas board meeting was held in 1921.
Qantas moved to Longreach in 1922, but it was in Winton that it was first registered, and the very first meetings were held here in this club.

The club still operates, so it is not a museum.

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This wall is maybe the craziest attraction in Winton. It is a wall of more than 70m lenght that is essentially full of old junk and rubbish. The rubbish is tucked into holes in the wall. You see the craziest things in there - from small metal pieces that cannot be identified anymore, to old TVs, pieces of bicycles and a sewing machine.

You see: Australians are so creative that they even succeed in making a popular attraction out of rubbish :-))

VISIT THE MATILDA CENTRE..This is a wonderful exhibition of local and Aussie folklore..it has many exhibits to see includes a museum..different country implements exhibition..and I found the exhibit on The Queensland Light Horse a really first rate exhibit..there is also much here "hands on" for kids..I can understand why it was the winner of "The Significant Outback Attraction award in 2000 ...Also they sell freshly baked scones and damper..to have with a variety of coffees..