View allAll Photos Tagged blacksoil
Adult male Tessellated Gecko (Diplodactylus tessellatus) from the blacksoil plains around Winton in central Queensland, Australia.
Do not let the smallest marsupial fool you with its cute looks. The Long-tailed Planigale is a ferocious predator, taking down large centipedes and other biting invertebrates that are larger than themselves. They live in soil cracks in Northern Australia's blacksoil plains.
The Ornamental Snake lives in cracking blacksoil country, where it is usually found around 'gilgais', shallow depressions that fill with water after rain.
Taken on a Canon EOS 5D Mark 3 DSLR coupled to a Carl Zeiss ZE 50/2 Makro Planar T* 1:2 lens.
Tripod, manual metering, manual focus and a multi-flash set-up utilized. Taken fully stopped-down @ f.22 & 1/80th sec.
One of the most striking blue-tongue species, it is found throughout Australia's arid interior. This specimen was found on in the evening on a blacksoil plain, where they shelter in large cracks to avoid the extreme daytime heat.
Just a couple of the thousands of spider webs out this morning. It is sunrise and there is a fairly thick fog/mist across this open plain blacksoil area.
On the volcanic slopes of Lanzarote, a cluster of succulents rises from the dark soil, their thick green leaves and pink flowers contrasting with the reddish cone in the distance. The terrain is dry, raw, and silent — yet life persists. The scene feels suspended, as if time had paused to let color and texture settle into quiet harmony. A moment of geological stillness and botanical resilience.
Sur les pentes volcaniques de Lanzarote, un groupe de succulentes émerge du sol noir, leurs feuilles épaisses et leurs fleurs rosées contrastant avec le cône rouge au loin. Le terrain est sec, brut, silencieux — mais la vie s’installe. La scène semble figée, comme si le temps s’était arrêté pour laisser les couleurs et les textures s’accorder dans une harmonie discrète. Un instant de calme géologique et de résistance végétale.
Arid volcanic landscape in Lanzarote, Canary Islands. A dry stone wall cuts across black and reddish soil, shaped by ancient eruptions. Sparse vegetation — hardy shrubs and drought-resistant plants — dots the terrain. In the distance, low volcanic hills rise beneath a partly cloudy sky. This mineral setting reflects the island’s stark beauty and the human adaptation to its rugged geology.
Paysage aride et volcanique à Lanzarote, dans les îles Canaries. Un muret en pierre sèche traverse le sol noir et rouge, vestige des éruptions passées. La végétation est clairsemée, composée de buissons résistants et de plantes adaptées à la sécheresse. À l’horizon, des collines volcaniques basses se dessinent sous un ciel partiellement nuageux. Ce décor minéral incarne la sobriété et la force de l’île, entre rudesse géologique et adaptation humaine.
The Desert Channels Region is a largely unmodified environment with robust pastoral, mining, and tourism industries. Home to 14, 500 people the region covers 510 000 square kilometres, (about one-third of the state of Queensland) and incorporates the Queensland section of the Lake Eyre Basin. This region is valued for its unique and healthy inland river systems, landscapes, cultural heritage, sustainable communities and production.
The Thomson River forms part of the Lake Eyre Basin. The river was named by the explorer, Edmund Kennedy, in the 1840s. The northernmost headwaters of the river begin at Torrens Creek, inland from Charters Towers. The watercourse becomes the Thomson just north of the town of Muttaburra, where the channels of Landsborough Creek, Towerhill Creek, and Cornish Creek meet. The river continues in the southwesterly direction, passing the towns of Longreach, Stonehenge, and Jundah, before joining with the Barcoo River north of Windorah to form Cooper Creek. This is the only place in the world where the confluence of two rivers forms a creek. As with all the rivers in the Lake Eyre Basin, the waters from the Thomson never reach the sea, and instead either evaporate or, in exceptional flooding, empty into Lake Eyre. Floods are not uncommon along the river, and, due to the flat nature of the country traversed, the river can then become many kilometres wide. The area which the river flows is semi-arid blacksoil plains.
Declared pest plants and animals have an enormous impact on the Longreach Region. Competition between these invasive pest plants and native Flora has seen the destruction of habitat. The loss of feed and breeding areas has seen rapid declines in some animal species. Longreach Regional Council is committed to the eradication of pest plants and animal species and has formulated a comprehensive Pest Management Plan.
Desert Channels Queensland (DCQ) is a community-based non-for-profit group and a government-endorsed regional body. Their board membership represents landholders, Indigenous groups, the Great Artesian Basin, conservation and local governments. DCQ works with all the sectors of the community to sustainably manage the natural resources in the region. Together with the land management community, they develop projects to address the issues identified in the community-endorsed natural resource management plan, Protecting Our Assets. Assets include land, water, biodiversity, and community. Major issues DCQ considers are weeds and feral animals, vegetation management, grazing pressure, water management, land degradation, and viability and economics. The DCQ's mission is a community group dedicated to improving the quality of the life of current and future generations through leadership, innovation, knowledge, and partnerships, in the responsible management of their unique natural recourses.
Longreach, Queensland:
Longreach, Queensland, is 620km west of Rockhampton, at the junction of the Capricorn and Landsborough Highways. The Aramac Creek flows southwards, joining the Thomson River which runs generally south-west through the Longreach district.
The Longreach district was explored by the New South Wales Surveyor-General, Thomas Mitchell (1846) and by Edmund Kennedy (1847). The pastoralist-explorer William Landsborough reported favourably on the district's pastoral prospects, and in 1863 the first pastoral lease was taken up by the vast Bowen Downs station. Several others followed soon afterwards. The district's centre was Aramac (1869), and it was governed by the Aramac local-government division (1879).
Railway Boom:
Considerable optimism surrounded the new settlement: town lots were auctioned and sold briskly, and by 1890 there were three hotels, several stores and tradespeople, a progress association, and a police station. The opening of the railway line in 1892 spurred further development, and thrust Longreach into the industrial upheaval of the age; whereas the 1891 shearer's strike had been based at Barcaldine, the 1894 strike was called at the new railway terminus, Longreach.
The town grew with astounding rapidity. By 1896 there were fourteen hotels, a hospital (1893), Catholic, Methodist, and Anglican churches, a school of the arts, a pastoral and agricultural society, and several clubs and friendly societies. From a population of about 150 in 1891, Longreach was approaching 2000 in 1903.
The progress association soon expressed criticism about the Aramac local-government division's neglect of the Longreach district. Aramac agreed, and the Longreach division was severed in 1900.
Apart from Longreach's role as a railhead and district centre, it also became the centre of an area subdivided for closer-settlement farms during the 1890s. Many blocks were too small, however, and the 1902 drought proved a substantial setback. Amalgamation of blocks and the successful drilling for bore water after the drought aided recovery.
Industrial Progress:
Longreach was usually quick to embrace new technology. Motor car hire and repair businesses were opened – the Longreach Motor Co (1910) and Edwards, Martin Ltd (1910) were major businesses in both repair and body-building for vehicles. In 1919 two young airmen, P. J. McGinness and Hudson Fysh visited Longreach while surveying the Darwin to Longreach section of a proposed England-Australia air route. The men later began Qantas outback airlines at Longreach and established a large plane assembly factory. With both a railway terminus and a pioneer air service, Longreach had some claim to being a 'Chicago of the West'. The railway advantage, however, subsided when the line was extended to Winton in 1927.
In 1921 an electricity powerhouse began operation and a rudimentary swimming pool opened. Reticulated water supply was laid on from the river in 1938, replacing the mineralised bore water and enabling trees to grace the city's parks. Despite the progress, Longreach remained a goat town for another two decades, with local herds essential as a reliable fresh milk supply. Fresh vegetables were also a problem, with grasshoppers damaging local crops and the railways sometimes failing to keep up supplies.
Postwar Tribulations:
The 1920s were relatively prosperous, as were the 1950s (apart from some dry years and a shearers' strike). Much of the commercial building stock was replaced, including the shire hall (the previous two, along with local hotels and the Catholic church had burnt down). A State high school and an Olympic pool were opened in 1966 and 1967. Within a few years wool prices declined, and an investment in beef cattle was met with a decline in meat prices. The town's population, which had stayed steady during 1933 - 1947 when other outback towns had fallen by a quarter, faltered badly during the 20 years from 1961 - 1981 falling from 3800 to fewer than 3000. Fortunately, improved roads and transport, which had solved the milk and vegetable supply problem, brought outback tourism. Sensing the tourist opportunity, Sir James Walker, Shire Chair (1957 - 1990), chair of regional electricity supply authorities and of the Longreach Pastoral College garnered national support for the Stockman's Hall of Fame, which opened in 1988 on land provided by the Pastoral College. The Qantas Founders Museum, abutting the original heritage-listed Qantas hanger at the Longreach aerodrome, and a museum based in the old powerhouse (also heritage-listed) are other attractions, particularly popular with 'grey nomads'.
In addition to the aforementioned attractions and facilities, Longreach has a racecourse, showground, a Catholic primary school (1985), a school of distance education, a base hospital (1944), aerodrome, a visitor information centre, an Olympic swimming pool, five churches, several hotels and motels, and an aged persons' accommodation. The elaborate railway station (1916, similar to the Emerald station) and the goods shed (1892) are listed on the Queensland Heritage Register.
Source: Desert Channels Queensland (DCQ) & Queensland Places (www.queenslandplaces.com.au/longreach).
The Mitchell Grass Downs Bioregion spans 335 320 square kilometres of predominantly treeless plains from Augathella in Queensland to Elliott in the Northern Territory. While it contains some occasional ridges, rivers and gorges, it is mainly deep cracking clay soils supporting highly productive Mitchell Grass grasslands. The Mitchell Grass Downs is leasehold cattle grazing for the most part, with sheep as well in the eastern quarter. Longreach is the major town of the grasslands, whilst other centres are Isisford, Tambo, Blackall, Aramac, Muttaburra, Hughenden, Richmond, Julia Creek, Winton, Boulia, Urandangi, and Camooweal.
Threatened species across this area include the Greater Bilby (Macrotis lagotis), Julia Creek Dunnart (Sminthopsis douglasi), Elizabeth Springs Goby (Chlamydogobius micropretus), Waddy Tree (Acacia peuce), and Sal Pipewort (Eriocaulon carsanii).
Nationally important wetlands across this area include Austral Limestone Aggregation, Corella Lake, Diamantina Lakes Area, Elizabeth Springs, Eva Downs Swamp, Lake de Burgh, Lake Sylvester, Lake Woods, Tarrabool Lake, and Thorntonia Aggregation.
National Parks across this area include Astrelba Downs, Bladensburg, Camooweal Caves, Diamantina, Idalia, Lochern, and the Welford.
Source: Desert Channels Queensland.
The Desert Channels Region is a largely unmodified environment with robust pastoral, mining, and tourism industries. Home to 14, 500 people the region covers 510 000 square kilometres, (about one-third of the state of Queensland) and incorporates the Queensland section of the Lake Eyre Basin. This region is valued for its unique and healthy inland river systems, landscapes, cultural heritage, sustainable communities and production.
The Thomson River forms part of the Lake Eyre Basin. The river was named by the explorer, Edmund Kennedy, in the 1840s. The northernmost headwaters of the river begin at Torrens Creek, inland from Charters Towers. The watercourse becomes the Thomson just north of the town of Muttaburra, where the channels of Landsborough Creek, Towerhill Creek, and Cornish Creek meet. The river continues in the southwesterly direction, passing the towns of Longreach, Stonehenge, and Jundah, before joining with the Barcoo River north of Windorah to form Cooper Creek. This is the only place in the world where the confluence of two rivers forms a creek. As with all the rivers in the Lake Eyre Basin, the waters from the Thomson never reach the sea, and instead either evaporate or, in exceptional flooding, empty into Lake Eyre. Floods are not uncommon along the river, and, due to the flat nature of the country traversed, the river can then become many kilometres wide. The area which the river flows is semi-arid blacksoil plains.
Declared pest plants and animals have an enormous impact on the Longreach Region. Competition between these invasive pest plants and native Flora has seen the destruction of habitat. The loss of feed and breeding areas has seen rapid declines in some animal species. Longreach Regional Council is committed to the eradication of pest plants and animal species and has formulated a comprehensive Pest Management Plan.
Desert Channels Queensland (DCQ) is a community-based non-for-profit group and a government-endorsed regional body. Their board membership represents landholders, Indigenous groups, the Great Artesian Basin, conservation and local governments. DCQ works with all the sectors of the community to sustainably manage the natural resources in the region. Together with the land management community, they develop projects to address the issues identified in the community-endorsed natural resource management plan, Protecting Our Assets. Assets include land, water, biodiversity, and community. Major issues DCQ considers are weeds and feral animals, vegetation management, grazing pressure, water management, land degradation, and viability and economics. The DCQ's mission is a community group dedicated to improving the quality of the life of current and future generations through leadership, innovation, knowledge, and partnerships, in the responsible management of their unique natural recourses.
Iningai Nation:
The Iningai people were identified by anthropologist Norman Tindale as the traditional owners of the Barcaldine region, however there have been no Native Title determinations made by the Federal Court. Today, it is believed that there are no Iningai descendants living in the region. However, there is a population of Indigenous Australians who have continued to reside in the area for many generations, and in light of their historical connections, take cultural responsibility for the area, which is now supported largely by agricultural industries.
Longreach, Queensland:
Longreach, Queensland, is 620km west of Rockhampton, at the junction of the Capricorn and Landsborough Highways. The Aramac Creek flows southwards, joining the Thomson River which runs generally south-west through the Longreach district.
The Longreach district was explored by the New South Wales Surveyor-General, Thomas Mitchell (1846) and by Edmund Kennedy (1847). The pastoralist-explorer William Landsborough reported favourably on the district's pastoral prospects, and in 1863 the first pastoral lease was taken up by the vast Bowen Downs station. Several others followed soon afterwards. The district's centre was Aramac (1869), and it was governed by the Aramac local-government division (1879).
Railway Boom:
Considerable optimism surrounded the new settlement: town lots were auctioned and sold briskly, and by 1890 there were three hotels, several stores and tradespeople, a progress association, and a police station. The opening of the railway line in 1892 spurred further development, and thrust Longreach into the industrial upheaval of the age; whereas the 1891 shearer's strike had been based at Barcaldine, the 1894 strike was called at the new railway terminus, Longreach.
The town grew with astounding rapidity. By 1896 there were fourteen hotels, a hospital (1893), Catholic, Methodist, and Anglican churches, a school of the arts, a pastoral and agricultural society, and several clubs and friendly societies. From a population of about 150 in 1891, Longreach was approaching 2000 in 1903.
The progress association soon expressed criticism about the Aramac local-government division's neglect of the Longreach district. Aramac agreed, and the Longreach division was severed in 1900.
Apart from Longreach's role as a railhead and district centre, it also became the centre of an area subdivided for closer-settlement farms during the 1890s. Many blocks were too small, however, and the 1902 drought proved a substantial setback. Amalgamation of blocks and the successful drilling for bore water after the drought aided recovery.
Industrial Progress:
Longreach was usually quick to embrace new technology. Motor car hire and repair businesses were opened – the Longreach Motor Co (1910) and Edwards, Martin Ltd (1910) were major businesses in both repair and body-building for vehicles. In 1919 two young airmen, P. J. McGinness and Hudson Fysh visited Longreach while surveying the Darwin to Longreach section of a proposed England-Australia air route. The men later began Qantas outback airlines at Longreach and established a large plane assembly factory. With both a railway terminus and a pioneer air service, Longreach had some claim to being a 'Chicago of the West'. The railway advantage, however, subsided when the line was extended to Winton in 1927.
In 1921 an electricity powerhouse began operation and a rudimentary swimming pool opened. Reticulated water supply was laid on from the river in 1938, replacing the mineralised bore water and enabling trees to grace the city's parks. Despite the progress, Longreach remained a goat town for another two decades, with local herds essential as a reliable fresh milk supply. Fresh vegetables were also a problem, with grasshoppers damaging local crops and the railways sometimes failing to keep up supplies.
Postwar Tribulations:
The 1920s were relatively prosperous, as were the 1950s (apart from some dry years and a shearers' strike). Much of the commercial building stock was replaced, including the shire hall (the previous two, along with local hotels and the Catholic church had burnt down). A State high school and an Olympic pool were opened in 1966 and 1967. Within a few years wool prices declined, and an investment in beef cattle was met with a decline in meat prices. The town's population, which had stayed steady during 1933 - 1947 when other outback towns had fallen by a quarter, faltered badly during the 20 years from 1961 - 1981 falling from 3800 to fewer than 3000. Fortunately, improved roads and transport, which had solved the milk and vegetable supply problem, brought outback tourism. Sensing the tourist opportunity, Sir James Walker, Shire Chair (1957 - 1990), chair of regional electricity supply authorities and of the Longreach Pastoral College garnered national support for the Stockman's Hall of Fame, which opened in 1988 on land provided by the Pastoral College. The Qantas Founders Museum, abutting the original heritage-listed Qantas hanger at the Longreach aerodrome, and a museum based in the old powerhouse (also heritage-listed) are other attractions, particularly popular with 'grey nomads'.
In addition to the aforementioned attractions and facilities, Longreach has a racecourse, showground, a Catholic primary school (1985), a school of distance education, a base hospital (1944), aerodrome, a visitor information centre, an Olympic swimming pool, five churches, several hotels and motels, and an aged persons' accommodation. The elaborate railway station (1916, similar to the Emerald station) and the goods shed (1892) are listed on the Queensland Heritage Register.
Source: Desert Channels Queensland (DCQ), Queensland Government, & Queensland Places (www.queenslandplaces.com.au/longreach).
Formation
The Painted Hills began to form 35 million years ago when pumice and ash from volcanic eruptions in the Cascade Mountains traveled 100 miles east and settled over the area. Once there, the ash and other sediments were mixed by natural processes including the flow of water, growth of plants, and the movement of animals. Over time, this led to oxidation of the ash on the surface. Buried under new layers and deposits, the ash turned into soils by way of compaction and cementation. With more time and weathering, the exterior surfaces of The Painted Hills were worn into clay. Now, they are primarily made of hard claystone layers.
Layers
The colored bands are due to changes in climate that occurred as they were distributed through time. As the climate changed to a more tropical setting with distinct wet and dry seasons, reddish and yellowish layers formed that are made up of laterites, soils rich in iron and aluminum. Red soils come from a more tropical period, while the yellows are from a drier and cooler time. The red coloring is laterite soil that formed by floodplain deposits when the area was warm and humid. The darker, black soil is lignite that was vegetative matter that grew along the floodplain. The grey coloring is mudstone, siltstone, and shale.
An abundance of fossil remains of early horses, camels, and rhinoceroses in the Painted Hills unit makes the area particularly important to vertebrate paleontologists.
Habitat of a southern, isolated population of the Grey Snake (Hemiaspis damelii)
Lower Murrumbidgee Floodplains, New South Wales.
The Desert Channels Region is a largely unmodified environment with robust pastoral, mining, and tourism industries. Home to 14, 500 people the region covers 510 000 square kilometres, (about one-third of the state of Queensland) and incorporates the Queensland section of the Lake Eyre Basin. This region is valued for its unique and healthy inland river systems, landscapes, cultural heritage, sustainable communities and production.
The Thomson River forms part of the Lake Eyre Basin. The river was named by the explorer, Edmund Kennedy, in the 1840s. The northernmost headwaters of the river begin at Torrens Creek, inland from Charters Towers. The watercourse becomes the Thomson just north of the town of Muttaburra, where the channels of Landsborough Creek, Towerhill Creek, and Cornish Creek meet. The river continues in the southwesterly direction, passing the towns of Longreach, Stonehenge, and Jundah, before joining with the Barcoo River north of Windorah to form Cooper Creek. This is the only place in the world where the confluence of two rivers forms a creek. As with all the rivers in the Lake Eyre Basin, the waters from the Thomson never reach the sea, and instead either evaporate or, in exceptional flooding, empty into Lake Eyre. Floods are not uncommon along the river, and, due to the flat nature of the country traversed, the river can then become many kilometres wide. The area which the river flows is semi-arid blacksoil plains.
Declared pest plants and animals have an enormous impact on the Longreach Region. Competition between these invasive pest plants and native Flora has seen the destruction of habitat. The loss of feed and breeding areas has seen rapid declines in some animal species. Longreach Regional Council is committed to the eradication of pest plants and animal species and has formulated a comprehensive Pest Management Plan.
Desert Channels Queensland (DCQ) is a community-based non-for-profit group and a government-endorsed regional body. Their board membership represents landholders, Indigenous groups, the Great Artesian Basin, conservation and local governments. DCQ works with all the sectors of the community to sustainably manage the natural resources in the region. Together with the land management community, they develop projects to address the issues identified in the community-endorsed natural resource management plan, Protecting Our Assets. Assets include land, water, biodiversity, and community. Major issues DCQ considers are weeds and feral animals, vegetation management, grazing pressure, water management, land degradation, and viability and economics. The DCQ's mission is a community group dedicated to improving the quality of the life of current and future generations through leadership, innovation, knowledge, and partnerships, in the responsible management of their unique natural recourses.
Longreach, Queensland:
Longreach, Queensland, is 620km west of Rockhampton, at the junction of the Capricorn and Landsborough Highways. The Aramac Creek flows southwards, joining the Thomson River which runs generally south-west through the Longreach district.
The Longreach district was explored by the New South Wales Surveyor-General, Thomas Mitchell (1846) and by Edmund Kennedy (1847). The pastoralist-explorer William Landsborough reported favourably on the district's pastoral prospects, and in 1863 the first pastoral lease was taken up by the vast Bowen Downs station. Several others followed soon afterwards. The district's centre was Aramac (1869), and it was governed by the Aramac local-government division (1879).
Railway Boom:
Considerable optimism surrounded the new settlement: town lots were auctioned and sold briskly, and by 1890 there were three hotels, several stores and tradespeople, a progress association, and a police station. The opening of the railway line in 1892 spurred further development, and thrust Longreach into the industrial upheaval of the age; whereas the 1891 shearer's strike had been based at Barcaldine, the 1894 strike was called at the new railway terminus, Longreach.
The town grew with astounding rapidity. By 1896 there were fourteen hotels, a hospital (1893), Catholic, Methodist, and Anglican churches, a school of the arts, a pastoral and agricultural society, and several clubs and friendly societies. From a population of about 150 in 1891, Longreach was approaching 2000 in 1903.
The progress association soon expressed criticism about the Aramac local-government division's neglect of the Longreach district. Aramac agreed, and the Longreach division was severed in 1900.
Apart from Longreach's role as a railhead and district centre, it also became the centre of an area subdivided for closer-settlement farms during the 1890s. Many blocks were too small, however, and the 1902 drought proved a substantial setback. Amalgamation of blocks and the successful drilling for bore water after the drought aided recovery.
Industrial Progress:
Longreach was usually quick to embrace new technology. Motor car hire and repair businesses were opened – the Longreach Motor Co (1910) and Edwards, Martin Ltd (1910) were major businesses in both repair and body-building for vehicles. In 1919 two young airmen, P. J. McGinness and Hudson Fysh visited Longreach while surveying the Darwin to Longreach section of a proposed England-Australia air route. The men later began Qantas outback airlines at Longreach and established a large plane assembly factory. With both a railway terminus and a pioneer air service, Longreach had some claim to being a 'Chicago of the West'. The railway advantage, however, subsided when the line was extended to Winton in 1927.
In 1921 an electricity powerhouse began operation and a rudimentary swimming pool opened. Reticulated water supply was laid on from the river in 1938, replacing the mineralised bore water and enabling trees to grace the city's parks. Despite the progress, Longreach remained a goat town for another two decades, with local herds essential as a reliable fresh milk supply. Fresh vegetables were also a problem, with grasshoppers damaging local crops and the railways sometimes failing to keep up supplies.
Postwar Tribulations:
The 1920s were relatively prosperous, as were the 1950s (apart from some dry years and a shearers' strike). Much of the commercial building stock was replaced, including the shire hall (the previous two, along with local hotels and the Catholic church had burnt down). A State high school and an Olympic pool were opened in 1966 and 1967. Within a few years wool prices declined, and an investment in beef cattle was met with a decline in meat prices. The town's population, which had stayed steady during 1933 - 1947 when other outback towns had fallen by a quarter, faltered badly during the 20 years from 1961 - 1981 falling from 3800 to fewer than 3000. Fortunately, improved roads and transport, which had solved the milk and vegetable supply problem, brought outback tourism. Sensing the tourist opportunity, Sir James Walker, Shire Chair (1957 - 1990), chair of regional electricity supply authorities and of the Longreach Pastoral College garnered national support for the Stockman's Hall of Fame, which opened in 1988 on land provided by the Pastoral College. The Qantas Founders Museum, abutting the original heritage-listed Qantas hanger at the Longreach aerodrome, and a museum based in the old powerhouse (also heritage-listed) are other attractions, particularly popular with 'grey nomads'.
In addition to the aforementioned attractions and facilities, Longreach has a racecourse, showground, a Catholic primary school (1985), a school of distance education, a base hospital (1944), aerodrome, a visitor information centre, an Olympic swimming pool, five churches, several hotels and motels, and an aged persons' accommodation. The elaborate railway station (1916, similar to the Emerald station) and the goods shed (1892) are listed on the Queensland Heritage Register.
Source: Desert Channels Queensland (DCQ) & Queensland Places (www.queenslandplaces.com.au/longreach).
Another great morning, yesterday, in the Top End of the Northern Territory. The smell of rain hanging in the air. A little bit of mist before the sun came up.