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 Shamrock Street  Thomas Mitchell Memorial  Barcoo River  Gidgee tree (Acacia Cambagei) |
A bit of Blackall history.It is not widely known now but Blackall's claim to fame was once based on the popular, and for the time, risque limerick:A popular girl of Blackall Wore a newspaper dress to a ball Her rig-out caught fire And burned her entire, Front page, sporting section and all. Equally 'Banjo' Paterson made much of the town's river, the famous Barcoo, including the memorable lines: On the outer Barcoo, where churches are few And men of religion are scanty On a road seldom crossed Save by folk who are lost One Michael Magee had a shanty. Could he have had somewhere around Blackall in mind? Since those heady days the town has achieved much greater fame. It claims to be 'the home of the fair dinkum black stump' and boasts 'You are in Jackie Howe country – the world's greatest ever blade shearer'. The area around Blackall was explored by Sir Thomas Mitchell in 1846. He came across the Barcoo River, which he called the 'Victoria', believing that it flowed north into the Gulf of Carpentaria. He returned to Sydney buoyed up by this information. Less than a year later Edmund Kennedy returned to the area and proved Mitchell incorrect by following the Barcoo until it became part of the mighty Cooper Creek. The town was first settled in 1864 and in 1868 it was surveyed, gazetted and named after Samuel Wensley Blackall, then-governor of Queensland. Blackall died three years later in Brisbane, but not before he had inspected a new cemetery at Toowong and chose the site with the greatest elevation for his remains. The area around the town was taken up by huge pastoral leases and over the next forty years the town became an important centre for transportation. Prior to the arrival of the rail service in Barcaldine in 1886 it was the main town in the region. Blackall was the first town to start drilling an artesian bore back in 1885. Blackall is in the heart of the State's merino sheep breeding area and has the last example left intact of a steam-powered wool washing plant, with a working shearing shed attached. It operated under steam power from 1908 until 1978, and remains today as it operated then. Both the local council and residents take pride in their parks and gardens. The main street is lined with indigenous bottle trees, botanically known as Brachychiton Rupestris. This tree is useful for drought feeding, by allowing cattle to eat the soft tissue in the trunk. This tissue is a good source of energy but is deficient in protein. The tree survives in clay to clay loam soils, and grows to a height of 20m. The native Boree tree, botanically known as Acacia Tephrina, grows to approximately 15m high. Its greyish leaves give the rounded canopy a silver appearance. It grows in heavy clay loam and tolerates long, dry seasons. The native gidgee tree, Acacia Cambagei, is sometimes called stinking wattle because it produces a strong odour in humid weather. The leaves are leathery and pale green in colour. The trunks are successfully used for fenceposts that last in the ground for hundreds of years. Other indigenous trees include dead finish and leopardwood. There is much to see in Blackall and the friendly locals will welcome you! |
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