Guide to Longreach Queensland Australia

Longreach is a town of about 3,000 people on the Thomson River, 690 kilometres west of Rockhampton and almost exactly on the Tropic of Capricorn. It is the unofficial capital of the central west, and with two of the best museums in regional Australia it is the place most people have in mind when they plan a trip to the outback.

Known For

• The Qantas Founders Museum
• The Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame
• Sunset on the Thomson River

The town sits on a treeless plain of Mitchell grass under an enormous sky. Its streets are named after birds, water birds running one way and land birds the other, and the main street, Eagle Street, has the wide verandahs and deep shade of a place built for heat. The visitor season runs from April to October. In summer, temperatures above 40 degrees are routine and many tours stop.

Things To Do in Longreach

Qantas Founders Museum

Qantas was founded at Winton in 1920 and moved to Longreach the following year, and the airline’s original hangar still stands at the airport. The museum beside it tells the story of the early years and displays a Boeing 747, a Boeing 707, a Super Constellation and a Catalina flying boat under a huge roof. Guided tours take you through the aircraft, and on some you can walk out on the wing of the jumbo. An evening light show is projected onto the planes.

Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame

Opened in 1988, the Hall of Fame is a tribute to the people who settled and worked the inland: stockmen, drovers, shearers, station women, Aboriginal stock workers and the flying doctor. The galleries were rebuilt in recent years with new displays, and a live show with horses, dogs and working stockmen runs in the arena through the season. Allow half a day.

On the Thomson River

The river is the town’s swimming hole, fishing spot and evening entertainment. Several operators run sunset cruises, usually followed by a camp-oven dinner and bush entertainment on the bank. Yellowbelly are the main catch.

Stagecoach and station tours

A local family company runs gallops in a restored Cobb and Co coach along an old mail route, and other operators offer day visits to working sheep and cattle stations, which is the best way to understand the country.

School of Distance Education

In term time, tours of the school show how children on remote stations are taught by radio and internet.

Where To Stay

Saltbush Retreat, near the museums, has stylish cabins and outdoor baths and is the pick for something different. Longreach Motor Inn, opposite the railway station, and Albert Park Motor Inn, within walking distance of both museums, are the best-known motels, and Longreach Tourist Park has cabins and van sites. Mitchell Grass Retreat offers glamping tents on the edge of town.

Everything fills from June to August, so book months ahead. Free camping is allowed beside the Thomson River north of town.

Eat & Drink

Harry’s Restaurant at the Longreach Motor Inn is the town’s main sit-down restaurant, and the Oasis at Albert Park Motor Inn is also open to visitors. The Birdcage and other pubs in Eagle Street serve counter meals, the Merino Bakery is the place for a pie, and there are a few cafes for breakfast. Many visitors eat on the river as part of a dinner cruise.

History

Longreach is on the country of the Iningai people. The town was gazetted in 1887 and named for the long reach of the river beside it, and the railway from Rockhampton arrived in 1892. Wool made it prosperous. In 1870 the cattle duffer Harry Readford stole a thousand head from a station near here and drove them to South Australia, the feat that inspired the character Captain Starlight; a lookout north of town carries the name.

Getting to Longreach

There are flights from Brisbane, and the Spirit of the Outback train runs from Brisbane through Rockhampton twice a week, taking about 24 hours. By road, Longreach is on the Landsborough and Capricorn highways, 180 kilometres south-east of Winton and 107 kilometres west of Barcaldine. All main roads are sealed.