ACCOMMODATION BLACKALL QLD

When genuine outback hospitality is what you're looking for, try us. Our refurbished, standard or budget rooms are homely, fully air-conditioned and heated with all the little extras. Even your car is protected with undercover parking. Our salt-water pool is a terrific place to relax over a cold beverage from the bar, then tantalize your tastebuds with our famous "great steaks" or just a simple seafood salad. In town for something special? Nothing is too far to walk to, or we can arrange a courtesy drop off. Pets welcome with prior notice.

The Blackall Caravan Park offers powered and unpowered sites, fully self-contained cabins and units. There are two amenity blocks, a laundry, dump point, pets are welcome, free wi-fi and drive through shady grass/slab sites. Situated off the highway, this park offers a peaceful and relaxing stay. The rich diversity of the Caravan Park offers many attractive options for the holiday maker or traveller. There is a coffee shop open 9am to 7pm and damper making demonstrations. They have a camp oven dinner followed by damper and billy tea every night (May to August). It's a great opportunity to meet, mingle and talk with fellow travellers. The next morning you can stroll downtown - it's just a short walk to shops, pubs, clubs, and aquatic centre. Debbie, Jacinta, Cliff and Denise at the Blackall Caravan Park would like to welcome you to Blackall.

G'Day! The Blackall Heartland Festival is a celebration in Blackall, the home of the Black Stump, Jackie Howe and the centre for Arts and Culture in the Central West. Showcasing its sheep and wool heritage as well as its regional produce, with a Barbecue Cook Off, Art and Photography Exhibition, and fun workshops there is something for everyone. 2016 sees the return of The Heartland Bull Ride, then country racing at its best followed by fast horse sports under lights in the evening. Come and be dazzled by art, music, regionally produced beef and lamb, singers, dancers and activities over a three day weekend in a unique outback setting. You will be bowled over by the friendly town of Blackall, so grab your hat and come and join them for some outback hospitality. With flights direct to Blackall from Brisbane there's no excuse not to get to Blackall during festival time. Don't forget to grab a mate and sign up for the Blades and Blisters Challenge. Some great prize money and a whole lot of fun. Tickets to some events book out early so get your ticket online at through the website....

Wave Rock Trail is located within Idalia National Park. This 144,000 hectare park, in Central Western Queensland protects extensive mulga woodlands, the headwaters of the Bulloo River and threatened wildlife, including a translocated population of bridled nailtail wallabies. Explore the gorges and rock formations of Idalia's Gowan Range tablelands. As you emerge from the dense mulga, catch surprise views of rugged escarpments, home to yellow-footed rock-wallabies. You may also see other macropods grazing along the creek flats. The Wave Rock Trail is a 1.2 kilometre return walk of an easy grade. Departing from Old Idalia, walk past the old ship's tank to reach the cliff overhang shaped like a wave. Wind, sun and time are nature's carving tool here; sunset is the paintbrush. Panoramic views from the top of the cliff give an idea of the size of the park and its diverse vegetation. Allow one to two hours to complete this walk. ...

The Five Mile Waterhole is a great little waterhole which is quiet and shady location with plenty of room for keen fishermen. The Five Mile Fishing Hole is not far from Blackall on the Landsborough Highway heading north. Turn left at the "Riverview"/"Garden" sign. Follow the road along then take track down between the two houses. There is all vehicle access to this fishing hole....

Built around the mid 1970s the saleyards were established as a structure to sell local cattle and have been in operation for many years. While in recent years there have been additional activities such as private scanning, weighing or spelling, the major function remains auctioning of cattle. Attendance at a typical sale day would be approximately 100 people with an average of 8500 cattle sold a year. A decision was made to cease sheep and lamb sales in 2000. The sheep yards still exist but are in poor repair. Cattle sales are usually held each Thursday. ...

Artesian Arts, located in Shamrock Street in Blackall, is the premier retail outlet for authentic Australian made art and craft in Central Western Queensland. Artesian Arts ? the retail outlet of Arts West Inc. ? provides consumers with a unique retail tourism experience. Artesian Arts merchandise is fashioned from an extensive range of mediums, carefully chosen to ensure a high level of craftsmanship. Over sixty regional art workers provide the stock, supplying a wide range of items on commission. Whether created from an old cow horn, a piece of corrugated iron, leather offcuts or the finest metals and gems, Artesian Arts aspires to showcasing the very best of the region?s products. Visitors will find handcrafted, 100 percent Australian-made merchandise on show throughout the year. Artesian Arts is proud to promote and preserve the arts and cultural heritage of Western Queensland whilst providing customers with high quality mementos of their travels....

Ram Park is a museum complex designed to inspire residents of Blackall and visitors to the region to reflect on the present and imagine the future, through active engagement with the past. The aim of Ram Park is to bring Blackall history to life and preserve it for future generations. At Ram Park visitors will be able to wander through buildings steeped in local history and view items from a world long past. Strolling through the grounds visitors will be able to visualise how the pioneers of the land tried to tame the outback. Ram Park is also home to the Blackall Visitor Information Centre and travellers will be able to find out not only local history, but what present day Blackall can also offer those who visit the town on the 'banks of the Barcoo'....

Anything west of here "is beyond the Black Stump". Located behind the Blackall State Schools in Thistle Street is the Black Stump memorial. This site represents the observation used to establish a principal meridional circuit traverse around the town in 1888. This surveying was done to gain a more accurate basis for maps of Queensland. The surveyors used the stump for the placement of their transit to gain latitude and longitude observations. The use of a stump rather than a set of legs gave more stability for the transit. As time passed any country to the west of Blackall was considered to be 'beyond the Black Stump'. Visit Navena Homestead at Ram Park to see the original transit that was placed on the Black Stump for the surveying purposes between Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm. ...

Amid the gorges and rocky formations of the Gowan Range tablelands, Idalia National Park protects extensive mulga woodlands, the Bulloo River's headwaters and threatened wildlife. Seven species of macropods, including yellow-footed rock-wallabies and endangered bridled nailtail wallabies live here. 15 native species of fuchsia grow here. Explore the park on the self-guided drive. Enjoy panoramic views from Emmet Pocket lookout. Murphy?s Rockhole, a shady gorge, is a good place for wildlife watching. Visit Old Idalia, an old mustering camp and stockyards. Walk to the wave-shaped cliff overhang. Bush camp at the peaceful Monk's Tank camping area, hidden in mulga woodlands. Camping fees apply. Go spotlighting. Photographers will delight in the vivid sunsets....

Mr Behan made his first sulky when he was about 14 years old in Wagga. His buggy and wagon display are on show in his garden, and gives Blackall a special charm that wouldn't been seen anywhere else. Most afternoons, you will encounter the Behan's trotting around in a horse and buggy saying hello to visitors and locals alike. ...

Jack Howe, Australia's most famous shearer, shore a record of 321 sheep in 7 hours and 40 minutes in 1892. He also set a record of 237 sheep shorn with electric shears which was not broken for 58 years. A memorial statue is located outside the Universal Garden Centre in Shamrock Street. Inside is a gallery, with a historic display, relating to the legendary shearer Jack Howe and local town history which can be seen for a small charge. ...

Blackall is located on the Matilda Highway and is name after Sir Samuel Blackall, the second Governor of Queensland. The town was founded in 1846 by explorer Major Thomas Mitchell. Rest, relax and revive at Blackall?s Aquatic Centre ? home to the artesian spa and swimming pool. Famous for many reasons, blade shearer Jack Howe put Blackall on the map in 1892 at ?Alice Downs? when he set a world record by shearing 321 sheep in seven hours and 40 minutes. It actually took another 58 years before anyone could match this feat and that was by machine shears. Blackall was also the first Outback town to start drilling an artesian bore back in 1885. It is also the home of the Black Stump which was used for surveying purposes and permanently marks the original Astro Station established in 1887. Anything west of this point is said to be ?beyond the black stump?....

Get the feel of a real outback driving adventure! The Moonbria and Barcoo River Roads are a great way to travel off-road between Barcaldine, Blackall and Isisford. As you travel over the black soil plains to the Barcoo River, you will see a wide variety of native wildlife and birds. Camp on the banks of the mighty Barcoo and try your luck at catching a yellowbelly. The Moonbria Road section is 96 kilometres and the Barcoo River Road is 120 kilometres and suitable for four wheel drives only. This road can become impassable in the wet weather....

What better way to rest, relax and unwind after a day's sightseeing but in the warm waters of the Great Artesian Basin at Blackall Aquatic Centre. Set in tropical surroundings, the oasis comprises of a 50 metre pool, two paddle pools and a naturally fed artesian spa. All pools are beach entry to enable easy access and heated throughout the cooler months....

The bravery of shearers, jackaroos and 'townies' who voluntarily signed up to be a part of WWI is remembered within Blackall's A and M Lehman Park. Returned soldier and former mayor James Minnis unveiled a sandstone obelisk, fashioned by AL Petrie, on ANZAC Day 1927. It carries the names of 37 locals who died in the conflict. There's also a stone seat, dedicated in 1928 by the Queensland Country Women's Association Blackall branch members in 'grateful memory'. And there's a sculpture honouring the town's own Military Cross and Victoria Cross recipient, Edgar Thomas Towner. The grazier's son was 25 when he enlisted. He served at Gallipoli, Egypt and in Europe. The VC, the highest of honours in the British Empire, was awarded for his actions during an attack on Mont St. Quentin, a key German stronghold, on the Western Front in 1918. Towner continued his life on the land in central Queensland, with a short time serving in WWII. He died in 1972 and is buried at the Longreach Cemetery....

The Major Mitchell Memorial, which is located in Shamrock Street, was unveiled on the 19th September 1946. Thomas Mitchell was the first European to explore the area in 1846, which then led to the area being opened up for settlement. The clock is dedicated to Major Mitchell, Graham Douglas and their aboriginal interpreter Youranigh....