Waltzing Matilda Centre

Lake Quarry Dinosaurs Trackways building

Combo Waterhole, the billabong made famous in the song, “Waltzing Matilda"

Statue of Banjo Paterson

The Outpost, the general store at Opalton

Skull Hole (24km south). During the wet season, Skull Hole is filled by a waterfall. Also in the area are wattle trees, caves, bats and strangely shaped rocks.

An outback Queensland town made famous because the song 'Waltzing Matilda' was written there. A centre of an important cattle and sheep raising region, it has been a vital transportation point since early white settlement.

Where is it?: Queensland: Far west. 849 km west of Rockhampton; 1,400 km north west of Brisbane; 186 m above sea level.

Things to see and do:

The hottest bore in Australia is located on Castle Hill Station 100 km west of Winton. There, the water temperature registers 99 degrees Celsius as it comes to the surface.

Bladensburg National Park is situated just 7km from Winton township and was once Bladensburg station, one of the original grazing properties established in Winton in the late 19th Century. The property was officially gazetted as a National Park in 1994, and now offers the public a snapshot of station history at the old Homestead and surrounding buildings and Shearing Shed. More >>

The Dinosaur Trackways at Lark Quarry are believed to be unique in the world in that they represent the most concentrated site and only definitive record of dinosaur stampede behaviour. The Trackways are also believed to date back to the Cretaceous Period, 95 million years ago. Approximately 3,300 fossilised dinosaur tracks can be viewed.
Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History is home to the world’s largest collection of Australian dinosaur fossils, including some of our most famous such as Australovenator (Banjo) and Diamantinasaurus (Matilda). Not surprisingly, it’s also the site of Australia’s largest fossil preparation laboratory. It is located on top of a huge mesa plateau near Winton called The Jump-Up, featuring huge rocky outcrops, cliffs, canyons and spectacular distance views. More >>

Opalton (124km south) is home to the Queensland boulder opal - a rare and beautiful gemstone; a kaleidoscope of colours variously dubbed an "earth-bound rainbow", a "river of illusion" or "the gem of the Never Never". The Opalton field is one of the largest opal deposits in Queensland and is the hub of fossicking in the Winton district.  Many visitors camp at the Opalton diggings over the winter months, enjoying the isolation, wildlife and the frontier atmosphere. More >>

Combo Waterhole is believed by some to be the setting for the story of Waltzing Matilda, or at least part of the inspiration. 'Banjo' Paterson visited the site in 1895 while staying at Dagworth Station and later wrote the words to a song that captured the spirit of Australia – ‘Waltzing Matilda’. The story of Australia's most famous song is told at the Waltzing Matilda Centre.

Trivia: Winton was the birthplace of Australia's national airline, Qantas. On 16th November 1920 the Queensland and Northern Territory Air Service was registered as a company with its headquarters in the town.

Brief history: Winton was originally known as Pelican Waterhole. In 1875 Robert Allen arrived in the area and became the postmaster. It is said that he got tired of writing the long 'Pelican Waterhole' on letters and so he renamed the town after the suburb in Bournemouth, England where he was born. The town of Winton was duly gazetted in 1879.
Winton owes its existence to the abortive Burke and Wills expedition and the subsequent expeditions which scoured central Queensland looking for the missing explorers. During the early 1860s explorers Frederick Walker, John McKinley and William Landsborough all passed through the area and it was as a result of their reports that the area was first settled in the mid 1860s. Although there is no formal record of land leases until 1873. Winton's greatest claim to fame is its association with 'Banjo' Paterson and particularly with the writing, and first performance of 'Waltzing Matilda'. Paterson was staying at Dagworth Station (ruins, 100 km north west of Winton) in 1895 when Christina Macpherson played the tune 'Craiglea' for the guests. Paterson liked the tune and inquired about the words. Macpherson explained that she did not know of any words. Paterson obliged with words of his own.
Winton is also the birthplace of Australia's national airline, Qantas. On 16th November 1920 the Queensland and Northern Territory Air Service was registered as a company with its headquarters in the town. The first official meeting of Qantas took place at the Winton Club on 10th February 1921.

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