QHA Review August 2017

COMPASS
TAKING TO THE OUTBACK AIR
SMACK IN THE BULLSEYE OF QUEENSLAND, LONGREACH IS A FOCAL POINT FOR AVIATION ENTHUSIASTS AND
INTREPID TRAVELLERS LOOKING FOR A HISTORICAL TASTE OF THE OUTBACK.
QHA REVIEW | 42
Nothing defines the heartland of the outback better
than a town at the heart of it all. Early pioneering
pastoral development of the area was hampered by
the absence of a secure water supply and only able
to support a loose partnering of leaseholds known as
“Forrest Grove”.
The town of Longreach owes its existence to
government surveyors discovering that a large
waterhole on a “long reach” of the Thomson River
was sufficient to support the establishment of a larger
settlement in the 1880s.
This cleared the way for extending the Rockhampton
to Barcaldine railway to the Thomson River and
the fledgling town’s appeal grew. Westward
looking entrepreneurs soon arrived along with
more pastoralists and by 1890 there were three
hotels, several stores and tradespeople, a progress
association and a police station. The town then grew
steadily from a population of 150 in 1891 to around
2000 in 1903.
Although land-based commercial activity would always
be the town’s mainstay, activity in the air would give
Longreach lasting fame. In 1919 two WW1 veteran
airmen visited Longreach while planning the Darwin to
Longreach section of a proposed long-haul air route
between Australia and England. Paul McGinness and
Hudson Fysh would later establish Qantas airlines
in Winton (177km up the road to the north-west)
supported by a large plane assembly factory at
Longreach aerodrome.
Today the aerodrome is home to the Qantas Founders
Museum. Aviation enthusiasts the world over visit
to take the Boeing 747 “walking wing” tour or test
their flying skills with the world’s only Bristol Fighter
simulator among displays focusing on the founding
THE TOWN OF LONGREACH OWES ITS EXISTENCE TO
GOVERNMENT SURVEYORS DISCOVERING THAT A
LARGE WATERHOLE ON A “LONG REACH” OF THE
THOMSON RIVER
figures of Qantas and the impact of aviation
in Australia.
Another hit with tourists is the Stockman’s Hall of
Fame. This museum was officially opened by the
Queen in 1988 in conjunction with bicentennial
celebrations and showcases the stories of explorers,
stock workers and pastoralists from all walks of
life that shaped the outback’s history. The building’s
striking design was inspired by the countless
silos and water tanks dotted throughout the
surrounding countryside.
The Longreach Powerhouse Museum also attracts
a lot of visitors and is the largest preserved rural
generating facility in Australia.
Three QHA member hotels are located in the middle of
town and one in nearby Ilfracombe.