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1921. Assembled in Sydney, the rustic flying machine could carry two passengers in an open cockpit behind the pilot. The wood framed aircraft was used for joy rides above our wide brown land and also provided air taxi services. As well, it was an eye-catching contraption highly effective in visually spruiking the benefits of the burgeoning air transport industry to thousands of potential customers.

For trivia buffs, Qantas is the only airline in the world to have ever manufactured its own aircraft for use on its own scheduled services. Seven DH50s made under license from the de Havilland Aircraft Company were hand assembled in the Longreach hanger between 1926 and 1929.

Middleton’s magic

structure – is where locals converge to quench their thirst and swap stories. I’ll never forget one I heard!

Seeing the light!

The resident population of Middleton is an astounding.....wait for it ... 5, although on Saturday nights - when you may first hear accounts of the ‘light’ - the crowd in the sole hotel and bar to be found for 100 km or so could easily swell to a dozen... or less!

Dinosaurs roamed the land, I learned, while traipsing across sand and stones at one of the most unusual sites in the country, the only place where there’s recorded evidence of a dinosaur stampede!

focal point, the Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame. This must-see attraction is situated just off the bitumen of the Landsborough Highway - an outback lifeline also known as the Matilda Highway - on the approach to the area’s commercial hub, and so cannot possibly be overlooked. A larger than life size metal stockman with stirrups in hand and swag on his back certainly attracts attention.

Any preconceptions about dull and dusty museum collections are well and truly dispelled when entering this world-class attraction, a blend of museum and memorial studded with intricate displays, artefacts, thousands of photographs, text panels and a host of interactive exhibits. Opened in 1988 during Australia’s bicentennial year by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the architecturally innovative centre spans a broad timeline from the arrival of Aboriginal people and their contributions to our island continent to the use of satellite communications, a reality of life today even in the remotest areas of the vast country. The treasure house is a delightful introduction to the outback for children, and is certain to provide plenty of discussion points for adults as they sit and sip cold refreshments back in central Longreach later in the day.

The biggest population centre in central west Queensland and the region’s administrative, pastoral and tourism hub, Longreach has additional points of distinction with a double connection to world aviation. For starters, the world’s first Flying Surgeon Service was established in Longreach in 1959. Frequently confused with the better known Royal Australian Flying Doctor Service, this mobile medical task force was set up to meet the growing need for specialised surgical facilities among the widely scattered populations of western Queensland. The service, I was told, provides elective and emergency surgical care for about 40 per cent of the state where there’s a dire shortage of resident specialists.

Aviation history

Longreach also has a war-time link to aviation history. During World War II, the airport was used by the Americans as an Air Force Flying Fortress base. A far better known connection with the aviation industry, however, is the Qantas Founders’ Outback Museum which tributes the award-winning airline in style and substance. Located across the wide highway almost opposite the Stockman’s Hall of Fame is the original Qantas hangar, a facility used as the airline’s first operational base from 19221934. It’s been polished up a bit, although it still has its original Outback charm.

Inside is enough aviation memorabilia to keep any die-hard enthusiast enthralled for hours. One of my favourite exhibits is a replica of the first Qantas aircraft. Qantas took delivery of its initial airplane, an Avro 504K - registration G-AUBG - in January

Well west of Longreach on the Min Min Byway en route to Boulia, red river gums grow close to the banks of billabongs and the squawk of the red parrot is the only sound to break the silence of this timeless land. Emus and kangaroos stare at the passing parade before scattering at high speed in all directions and the luxury of a dual lane roadway ceases. The sealed surface narrows to a width barely sufficient for one vehicle. It’s not a significant problem though because there’s not much traffic anyway.

Just half a billion years ago there was none! This vast area was under water as it was a major inland sea. That’s not a tall tale either. Should you want to hear a few, though, dally at the nearly 150-year-old restored Middleton Hotel for a chat with the locals on any Saturday night. The whistlestop was named after the first white man to explore the area, while the namesake Middleton Hotel was a staging post for Cobb & Co coaches on the Winton to Boulia mail run. The now somewhat restored building – the original

Captions: Golden Outback

No one in or around Middleton or still farther west at Boulia - the nearest town to the country graveyard where the first recorded sighting of the Min Min Lights was recorded in the 1890s - has any explanation for the most perplexing phenomena of the outback. There are plenty of theories though. Infrequently seen, the other worldly light appears as a fuzzy luminous oval - a fluorescent football, in essence - sometimes moving, sometimes stationary but never coming close enough to be positively identified.

There are many theories about the origin of these mystifying light formations ranging from optical illusions to geophysical phenomenon. With tongue in cheek I proposed my own theory that they might be a reflection from a distant cinema projector. But then the Min Min Lights have been seen outside the timings of April to September cinema screenings at the Royal back in Winton and they have been observed across much of northern Australia. Besides that, Aboriginal people have known about these baffling lights long before white settlers landed on the shores of Australia. The Min Min Lights remain a mystery unsolved and another compelling puzzle from the back of beyond.

1. Enthralled visitors study the massive tracks left by long gone dinosaurs at the Lark Quarry Conservation Park.

2. Relive the days when Cobb & Co coaches used to ply the Outback linking remote locations.

3. An iconic larger than life size Stockman lures tourists into the memorabilia rich Hall of Fame.

4. Towering ant hills ‘sprouting’ from red Outback surrounds add to the region’s visual splendour.

Travel notebook

QUEENSLAND’S GOLDEN OUTBACK

Flights

Flights Qantas has numerous jet services from capital cities and major metro centres to Brisbane. See your travel agent for more information or visit www.qantas.com.au

Access

Another option is to travel to the outback centre by rail. Queensland Railways operates the Spirit of the Outback on a twice weekly schedule that takes 24 hours to link Brisbane and Longreach. The 15-carriage train accommodating up to 204 passengers in sleeping berths or comfortable seats has a themed restaurant car with an Outback motif.

See www.queenslandrailways.com.au

Motorists with a passion for long distance travel can also drive to Longreach and undertake an independent exploration of Central Australia. Or visitors can do as I did and join an organised AAT Kings Mercedes air conditioned 4WD safari that allows for leisurely exploration of rural tracks and bush trails. See www.aatkings. com.au

Events

The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) has recently partnered with the Stockman’s Hall of Fame to create an exciting new visitors centre. The new exhibition will feature a walk through experience based on typical RFDS aircraft and a number of interactive displays along with radio and medical equipment used in founder John Flynn’s day through to the cutting edge communication and medical technical used today. (Flynn’s achievements are recognised on the Australian $20 note.) The new display will be open in time for the start of the 2012 tourist season in central Queensland.

INFORMATION

See your travel agent or visit www.drivequeensland.com.au and www.queenslandholidays.com.au.