Guide to Goondiwindi Queensland Australia

Goondiwindi, known to everyone as Gundy, stands on the north bank of the Macintyre River, which here forms the border between Queensland and New South Wales. Five highways meet at the town, making it one of the busiest crossroads in inland Australia, about 350 kilometres south-west of Brisbane. It is a confident, well-kept place of some 6,500 people, grown rich on cotton, grain, sheep and cattle, with a leafy main street and a long riverside park.

Known For

• A major inland crossroads on the state border
• The statue of Gunsynd, the Goondiwindi Grey
• Cotton fields and river red gums on the Macintyre

The country around is dead flat, a vast floodplain of grey soil laid out in irrigated cotton and broad paddocks of wheat and sorghum. In late summer and autumn the cotton bursts white, and at harvest huge round bales wrapped in yellow or pink line the roads.

The river is the town’s great asset and its old enemy. A high levee, begun in the 1950s, has kept floodwaters out of the streets ever since, including during the record flood of 2011.

Things To Do in Goondiwindi

The river walk

A path runs along the top of the levee beneath enormous river red gums, with views over the Macintyre and across to New South Wales. It passes the old border bridge of 1914 and markers showing the height of past floods.

Gunsynd

In the early 1970s a grey horse owned by four local men won 29 races, including the Cox Plate, ran third in the Melbourne Cup and became a national favourite. A bronze statue of the Goondiwindi Grey stands in a park beside the river, and there is a small museum display in his honour.

Customs House Museum

Before Federation, goods crossing the border were taxed here. The little timber customs house of the 1850s is now a folk museum with a pretty garden.

Natural Heritage and Water Park

On the edge of town, a man-made lake is used for water-skiing, swimming and paddling, with walking tracks, barbecues and good birdwatching around the shore. Nearby, the Botanic Gardens of the Western Woodlands display the native plants of the inland around another lake.

Cotton and farm tours

Tours of local farms and a cotton gin run at certain times of the year, mostly around the autumn harvest. Ask at the visitor centre.

The Victoria Hotel

The town’s most photographed building is a rambling timber pub on the main street, crowned by an ornate tower and wrapped in verandahs. It dates from the 1890s and has been carefully restored.

Fishing

The Macintyre and the nearby Weir and Dumaresq rivers hold Murray cod and yellowbelly. There are boat ramps and bank access close to town, and a fishing competition is held on the river each year. New South Wales rules apply on much of the border river, so check which licence you need.

Regional museums

The civic centre has a small gallery, and a private collection of vintage machinery and memorabilia is open by arrangement. The visitor centre can book farm and gin tours and has maps of drives through the cotton country.

Bendidee and the west

Bendidee National Park, about 45 kilometres north-east, protects one of the last large stands of brigalow and belah scrub, with no facilities but plenty of birds. To the west, the Barwon Highway runs through Toobeah and Talwood towards St George.

Where To Stay

As a highway junction, Goondiwindi has a large number of motels and several caravan parks, along with historic hotels in the centre.

It is a popular overnight stop, so book ahead in school holidays and during the winter touring season.

Eat & Drink

Marshall Street has good cafes, bakeries and pubs, the best known being the Victoria Hotel with its ornate timber tower. Several restaurants and clubs serve local beef and lamb.

History

This is the country of the Bigambul people. Squatters took up runs along the Macintyre in the 1840s, and the town grew at a river crossing used by teamsters. Its name is said to come from an Aboriginal word for the resting place of birds.
Wool was the first source of wealth, followed by wheat and, from the 1970s, irrigated cotton, which transformed the district. The town has repeatedly been named among the most liveable country towns in Queensland, and its tidy streets and gardens show why.

Getting to Goondiwindi

Goondiwindi is about four hours from Brisbane by the Cunningham Highway through Warwick and Inglewood, and two and a half hours from Toowoomba by the Gore Highway through Millmerran. The Newell Highway runs south to Moree and Melbourne, and the Barwon Highway west to St George.