Winton, Queensland
Encyclopedia
Qantas
Winton was one of the founding towns of the Australian airline QantasQantas
Qantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia. The name was originally "QANTAS", an initialism for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services". Nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo", the airline is based in Sydney, with its main hub at Sydney Airport...
. The first board meeting was held at the Winton Club on 10 February 1921.
Waltzing Matilda
Winton is intimately involved in the story of the popular Australian folk song, "Waltzing MatildaWaltzing Matilda
"Waltzing Matilda" is Australia's most widely known bush ballad. A country folk song, the song has been referred to as "the unofficial national anthem of Australia"....
", which had its first performance in the North Gregory Hotel in the town. The Waltzing Matilda Centre opened in 1998 and is the first museum dedicated to a song. The song was written by 'Banjo' Paterson
Banjo Paterson
Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson, OBE was an Australian bush poet, journalist and author. He wrote many ballads and poems about Australian life, focusing particularly on the rural and outback areas, including the district around Binalong, New South Wales where he spent much of his childhood...
whilst holidaying at a local property Dagworth Station
Station (Australian agriculture)
Station is the term for a large Australian landholding used for livestock production. It corresponds to the North American term ranch or South American estancia...
. The North Gregory Hotel has been ravaged by fire three times.
Dinosaurs
The area surrounding the town has yielded a number of dinosaurDinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
fossils, including 'Elliot', a sauropod. In 2009, three dinosaur genera
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
, Australovenator
Australovenator
Australovenator is a genus of allosauroid theropod dinosaur from late Albian -age rocks of Australia...
, Wintonotitan
Wintonotitan
Wintonotitan is a genus of titanosauriform dinosaur from late Albian -age rocks of Australia. It is known from partial postcranial remains.-Description and history:...
and Diamantinasaurus
Diamantinasaurus
Diamantinasaurus is a genus of derived titanosaurian dinosaur from late Albian -age rocks of Australia...
, were discovered near the town. Australovenator wintonensis, the type specimen of that genus, is named after the town. The town also lent its name to the Winton Formation
Winton Formation
The Winton Formation is a Cretaceous formation in central-western Queensland, Australia. The sauropod dinosaur Austrosaurus is found in the early Cretaceous Winton formation....
.
Royal Theatre
The historic Royal Theatre is one of the few remaining open air picture theatres in Australia and home to the World's Largest Deckchair which was originally constructed in Victoria by the Freemasons Taskforce in 2002 and donated to Winton and the Royal Theatre by the members of that taskforce in April 2005.Great Artesian Basin
Winton is situated on the Great Artesian BasinGreat Artesian Basin
The Great Artesian Basin provides the only reliable source of freshwater through much of inland Australia. The basin is the largest and deepest artesian basin in the world, stretching over a total of , with temperatures measured ranging from 30°C to 100°C...
. The water supply bursts to the surface at 83C degrees and is then channeled through cooling ponds before being distributed to the town. Sulphur gas gives the water an 'eggy' smell.
Outback Festival
Bi-annually, Winton hosts a week-long outback festival in the main street featuring an iron man race, live bands, competitions and more.Arno's Wall
Arno's wall is a strange mixture of art and architecture. Cemented contents of the wall include rusted lawnmower parts, boat propellers, vintage typewriters and sewing machines and even a couple of complete motorbikes.The Proposition
The 2005 film The PropositionThe Proposition
The Proposition is a 2005 western film directed by John Hillcoat and written by screenwriter and musician Nick Cave. It stars Guy Pearce, Ray Winstone, Emily Watson, John Hurt, Danny Huston and David Wenham. The film's production completed in 2004 and was followed by a wide 2005 release in...
was filmed entirely in Winton and the surrounding area.
Vickers Viscount accident
On 22 September 1966, Ansett-ANA Flight 149, a Vickers ViscountVickers Viscount
The Vickers Viscount was a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs, making it the first such aircraft to enter service in the world...
aircraft crashed on Nadjayamba Station 12 miles (19 km) west of Winton, killing all 24 people on board. On the fortieth anniversary of the accident a memorial was unveiled in the main street of Winton.
Timeline
- 1848 Ludwig LeichhardtLudwig LeichhardtFriedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt, known as Ludwig Leichhardt, was a Prussian explorer and naturalist, most famous for his exploration of northern and central Australia.-Early life:...
explores region - 1858 Augustus GregoryAugustus GregorySir Augustus Charles Gregory KCMG. was an English-born Australian explorer. Between 1846 and 1858 he undertook four major expeditions.-Early years:...
searches for Leichhardt - 1861 Landsborough searches for Burke and Wills
- 1866 First European settlers
- 1876 First hotel/store built
- 1879 Town gazetted
- 1880 First doctor arrives, Cobb and CoCobb and CoCobb and Co is the name of a transportation company in Australia. It was prominent in the late 19th century when it operated stagecoaches to many areas in the outback and at one point in several other countries, as well....
services begin, Police station established - 1881 First bank opens
- 1882 First school opens
- 1885 First newspaper
- 1888 OpalOpalOpal is an amorphous form of silica related to quartz, a mineraloid form, not a mineral. 3% to 21% of the total weight is water, but the content is usually between 6% to 10%. It is deposited at a relatively low temperature and may occur in the fissures of almost any kind of rock, being most...
discovered - 1891 Great Shearers' Strike
- 1894 Second shearers' strike
- 1895 First public performance of "Waltzing MatildaWaltzing Matilda"Waltzing Matilda" is Australia's most widely known bush ballad. A country folk song, the song has been referred to as "the unofficial national anthem of Australia"....
" - 1899 First train arrives
- 1900 Worst drought
- 1906 Record floods
- 1909 Telephone connected
- 1911 Open-air picture theatre opens
- 1920 QantasQantasQantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia. The name was originally "QANTAS", an initialism for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services". Nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo", the airline is based in Sydney, with its main hub at Sydney Airport...
formed - 1928 Bert HinklerBert HinklerHerbert John Louis Hinkler AFC DSM , better known as Bert Hinkler, was a pioneer Australian aviator and inventor. He designed and built early aircraft before being the first person to fly solo from England to Australia, and the first person to fly solo across the Southern Atlantic Ocean...
visits - 1942 Lyndon B. JohnsonLyndon B. JohnsonLyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
, later to become US President, was on board The SwooseThe SwooseThe Swoose is a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress D-BO, USAAF 40-3097, that saw extensive use in the Southwest Pacific theatre of World War II and survived to become the oldest B-17 still intact. It is the only early "shark fin" B-17 known to exist...
which made a forced landing at Carisbrooke Station - 1946 North Gregory Hotel destroyed by fire for 3rd time
- 1958 World Rodeo Championships
- 1962 Dinosaur Trackways discovered at the site now known as Lark Quarry Conservation Park
- 1966 Crash of Ansett-ANA Flight 149Ansett-ANA Flight 149On 22 September 1966 a Vickers Viscount aircraft departed from Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia for a 73 minute flight to Longreach. Forty-four minutes after takeoff a fire started in one of the engines. The crew were unable to extinguish the fire or feather the propeller so made an emergency...
, a Vickers ViscountVickers ViscountThe Vickers Viscount was a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs, making it the first such aircraft to enter service in the world...
aircraft, on Nadjayamba Station, west of Winton - 1972 First Outback Festival
- 1989 Winton to Cloncurry Highway sealed
- 1995 Waltzing Matilda Centenary
- 1996 The Agitator newspaper appears
- 1998 Waltzing Matilda Centre opens
- 1999 "Elliot", the largest dinosaur find in Australia was discovered by a local grazier
- 2002 Lark Quarry building opened in August.
- 2004 Lark Quarry receives National Heritage Listing.
- 2009 Three new dinosaurs discovered: "Banjo", "Matilda", "Clancy"