ACCOMMODATION MORVEN QLD

Step back in time where everyday early outback life is on display. The small but delightful Morven Historical Museum and Miniature Building Display contains some fascinating memorabilia. A must see is the miniature replica pioneer township. Painstakingly recreated over 15 years, buildings that have long gone have been preserved. The attention to detail of the buildings and the early building techniques makes this display a unique outback attraction. The Museum also has a collection of Aboriginal grinding stones, stone axe heads, spears, coolamons and boomerangs. In the grounds there is the 'tin hut', built of flattened kerosene tins, which is a testament to outback ingenuity. Built as housing during the great depression of the 1930's, these huts were common homes for pensioners. With only a few remaining today, Morven is fortunate to have one on display....

With a population of less than 250, Morven is thought to be named after a mountain and town of the same name in Scotland. Captain T.J. Saddlier and his wife arrived in the area in the 1860s and camped on a deep waterhole of nearby Hamburg Creek. This waterhole was later to become Morven's water supply and provided irrigation for a large Chinese market garden. It now only fills after rain storms. A hotel was established near the waterhole to service the Cobb and Co. Coach route. Passengers, drovers and bullock drivers all took advantage of the relative comfort of the Hotel. By 1887, Morven had three more hotels, a railway station and school. As the town grew the waterhole could not supply enough water, and bores were sunk into the Great Artesian Basin. Today, Saddliers Waterhole and Hamburg Creek are a traveller's oasis. The large red river gums provide shade and make it a great place for visitors to relax and wash away the cares of long day's travel....

The branding of cattle is an integral part of raising cattle. The 'brands' are unique designs that belong to each cattle property, and 'brands' from surrounding properties can be viewed at the Morven Branding Board. In the past, using a hot branding iron, the brands were branded onto the skin of the cattle, as proof of ownership. Today, many owners use ink stencils to 'brand' their cattle. A recent innovation is to insert micro chips under the skin of the cattle. To celebrate the year of the Outback in 2002, a re-enactment of the Harry Redford Cattle Drive was carried out. As the Cattle Drive travelled through Morven, the Community got together to celebrate the occasion, by burning their local cattle brands into a piece of bloodwood, which became 'The Branding Board'. The Branding Board is a collection of brands from surrounding properties who paid to have their mark placed on this board. Monies raised were then donated to the Starlight Foundation. Please take a look at each brand and you will notice some innovative designs. For cattle people often a quick glance at the brands is all they need to recognise the station that the cattle have come from....

In 1859 on the mail route from Brisbane to Charleville, a small area was taken from the property Victoria Downs and set aside for public use and designated on maps and documents as 'Victoria Downs Reserve'. It became known informally as 'Sadlier's Waterhole' when Captain TJ Sadlier and his wife camped at the property. When the town was officially surveyed in 1880 it was called Morven. Originally chosen as an ideal camping spot for early travellers into the Outback, a settlement formed. Even today Morven, with its garden beds and picnic tables, is regarded as a good place to take a break from driving. Enjoy a break and picnic overlooking Sadliers Waterhole at Hamburg Creek, once a stopover for bullock teams and Cobb and Co. Morven Museum houses a must-see collection of handcrafted, perfectly recreated miniature buildings from the bark and slab hut days of early Outback settlement, as well as an original kerosene tin hut. Just 10 kilometres south of Morven is Tregole National Park. Discover the rare Ooline Tree, a rainforest remnant right here in the Outback. Take a break overlooking Sadliers Waterhole or explore the Four Wheel Drive stock route trails. ...

Some time before 1874, Aneurin Heriot sold Ed Culnane allotments numbers nine and ten, section 32 in the Morven Township, for just 20 pounds. This was the land on which the Round Hill Hotel now stands. It was first named the Bridge Hotel and the year that the Hotel first started trading is not known. The year 1868 has been mentioned but not verified. The name was changed to Round Hill Hotel around 1959 after it left the hands of the O'Donoghue family. On visiting the Hotel today, you can view interesting old photographs and information relating to the history of Morven as well as the original Cobb and Co stables. Enjoy an ice cold beverage or something from the bistro menu. Enjoy regular live music and great food specials regularly. See the website for what's on....