About Barcaldine
Barcaldine is a hugely important and symbolic destination for visitors and travellers interested in the history of working people in Australia. It was here in 1891 that shearers, confronted with lower pay, went on strike, joined together in a camp outside the town and held meeting under “The Tree of Knowledge” – all events which played an important role in the formation of the Australian Labor Party. Today the town celebrates its historic radicalism with a Workers Heritage Centre, a Heritage Listed Shearers’ Strike Camp Site and a beautifully re-created ‘Tree of Knowledge’. The town is central to the Barcaldine Regional Council which covers 53,677 square kilometres and includes the towns of Alpha, Jericho, Aramac, and Muttaburra (sourced from the Aussie Towns website – click for more).
Getting there
It was another straight drive from one destination to the other (Winton to Barcaldine route map) with a quick stop-over in Longreach for fuel.
Accommodation
It was so nice to pull into the Homestead Caravan Park (maplink) and set-up on a grassy site with sweet (non stinky) water to drink. It was also a bargain at $25 per night for power & water.
A really nice park and the people who run it were so friendly. They put arvo tea on every day with free tea & coffee served with damper.
We did have a couple of great sunsets out the back of our caravan park too.
Around Town
It’s a pretty small town with a fair bit to offer, but it can be all taken in within a day. There was one attraction that we didn’t do and that was the Australian Workers Heritage Centre which is a tribute to the beginning of the Australian Labour Party who is supposed to have started in Barcaldine.
Tree of Knowledge
The historic Tree of Knowledge is famous for being the birthplace of the Australian Labour movement. The tree was poisoned in 2006, preserved and placed under an award-winning timber structure. It is now a place of inspiration, reflection and celebration. It is beautifully lit up every night, giving the illusion that the tree is still living. There are also interpretive panels and a sculpture that celebrates the leaders of the 1891 Shearers’ Strike and the history of the Labor movement.
We returned that night to check it out all “lit-up”, which was pretty cool.
Summing up…
- Accommodation – Homestead Caravan Park (07) 4651 1308
- Cost per night – $25.00 (@ 11-Aug-2022)
- Stayed for – 2 nights
- Facilities – Basic but clean
- CP Location – 24 Box St Barcaldine
- Our rating/score – 7/10
- Was it a nice town to visit? – Yes
- Activities & places of interest – enough to fill in 2 nights
- Tourist info centre? – 149 Oak St, Barcaldine (07) 4651 1724
- Would we return? – Only if it’s on our travel route – but next time we would make sure to do the “Lake Dunn Sculpture Trail” (info on this PDF) as it looks fantastic!
- We rate the town – 7/10
- Overall thoughts – Nice town and very tidy. The caravan park was great with arvo tea & damper served every day. Would stay there again, if coming this way.