We tackled the Stockman's Hall of Fame first and I lost myself in there for about 4 hours. The Hall of Fame is a great tribute to the fortitude and hard work of the Australian pastoral pioneers. The challenge of trying to eke out an existence from an inhospitable land must have been so hard. Add to that the isolation and occasional tests that Mother Nature chucked at you in the form of fires, floods, droughts and even locust plagues. The museum deals with how the early farmers enlisted the help of the Aborigines, the formation of the Royal Flying Doctor Service, how the big land owners like Sydney Kidman grew enormous land holdings and culminates with information on modern farming practices.
In one section I read the following poem which I think sums up the efforts of the pioneering farmers of Australia
A farmer stood at the pearly gates,His face was lined and old,He stood before the man of fate,For admission to the fold.
"What have you done?" St Peter said,"To gain admission here'."I've been a farmer sir", the old man said,"For many and many a year"The pearly gates flew open wide,As St Peter rang a bell,"Come in," he said, "and choose your harp,You've had enough of hell."
When we arrived at Longreach and were sheltering from the rain on Tuesday, we spent time on the inside of the QANTAS Founders Museum. Outside in the "birdcage", are a Boeing 747-200, 707 and Douglas DC3 which were significant types for QANTAS. We were guided on an afternoon tour of each aircraft which was interesting for aircraft geeks like us. Gary Spicer who is travelling with us is a retired Air New Zealand pilot and, although the young tour guide was very good, it was great to have Gary on hand to tell us even more about both the 747-200 and 747-400 which he flew.
As good as it is to see these aircraft I always find aviation museums kinda sad. Aircraft belong in the air.
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