Heavenly Beverley : We Will Return to Emerald.

Tuesday 8 August 2017

We Will Return to Emerald.

Emerald is amazing and unexpected. Emerald is not a frontier town with dusty streets and a handful of residents. Emerald is a thriving and beautiful town of around fifteen thousand residents two hundred and seventy kilometres west of Rockhampton. And Emerald is just one of a series of settlements, ranging from tiny to substantial, that dot the landscape all the way to Longreach. That has been the most interesting aspect of travelling in regional Queensland, as we are used to vast distances between towns in Western Australia.

Last night, the Spirit of the Outback arrived en route to Brisbane at the Emerald heritage listed railway station. Brisbane was still fifteen hours away. Passengers were alighting for the long overnight haul. The Spirit of the Outback is only one of a number of trains that criss-cross Queensland. In my opinion, that's how to open up a state. Provide regular reliable transport options.

Emerald was created as a railway town. Further along, the booming mining industry accelerated its growth. Then, after arguably patchy results in a joint British and Queensland farming initiative, land was opened up for agriculture. The key was water. The Selma Dam on the Nogoa River was built in 1953. However, the construction of the Fairbairn Dam - completed in 1972 - now guarantees Emerald's water supply. Never to be accused of being on the small scale, the dam is three times the size of Sydney Harbour. The dam was also designed to assist with reducing flooding from the Nogoa River, with mixed success in 2008 and then in 2010-2011.

The Nogoa River, which passes through Emerald, reminded me instantly of the "great grey green Limpopo". Even in the midst of the dry season, the river was lazily flowing past the Botanic Gardens, where we spent a very enjoyable few hours yesterday afternoon. These gardens are a delightful treat and we only covered a quarter of the grounds.

Earlier in the day, we visited the Emerald Art Gallery. An exhibition was in full swing. Resident artist Keith regaled us with tales of life as a manual worker for over forty years. Covered in ageing tattoos, with a slightly crumpled and brown Queensland face from years in the sun, talking to Keith was an absolute joy. And then he mentioned his mother was related to William Dobell...suddenly a famous painter like that in his family added up to Keith's outrageous dollops of artistic talent .

The Tourism Information precinct included the famous "Sunflowers" replica, an interpretive mosaic pathway and interesting early buildings. Lunch supplied by the famous Fairbairn Bakery, including a blueberry and custard turnover after two excellent BLTs, were all consumed with gusto at a picnic table under the shady trees in the Botanic Gardens. Utter bliss.

We did not get to either Fairbairn Dam or the nearby Gemfields. We have used Emerald as a place to recharge our batteries and slow down our pace. Our cabin in the Emerald Caravan and Cabin Park has been delightful.

Hence we intend to come back to Emerald and beyond in the future. Excellent.