Beyond the Black Stump

We arrived in Blackall a couple of days ago. The traditional owners of the country here are the Kuungkari people. After spending a day too wet and yes, cold, huddled up in Loretta bingeing Netflix, we finally ventured out today to visit some of the town's attractions. And for a small town, Blackall has its fair share of them.

Most notable, in our humble opinion, is the pyramid shaped monument which marks the genesis of the Australian Labor Party. When the shearing rate was lowered in 1886, shearers from nearby Isis Downs met in Blackall to fight the pastoralists and improve conditions for shearers in the region. This resulted in the formation of the Shearers Union in 1887 and, as their influence spread to other districts, the union changed its name to the Peoples Parliamentary Alliance, and later the Australian Labour Federation. After establishing a visionary and radical program of political reform the ALF became the Queensland Labour Party in 1890, later expanding to become the Australian Labor Party. Hard to imagine that the ALP was born here in Blackall when these parts now have a distinctly right wing leaning, but times change I guess. The Labs and I paid homage at the monument and continued our stroll around the town.

Across the road from the ALF monument is the small museum and statue dedicated to Jackie Howe. John Robert "Jackie" Howe was a legendary shearer, and one of the founding members of the ALF. He was the original "gun" shearer, managing to shear 321 sheep in one day with hand shears - a record that still stands today. My back's hurting just thinking about it.

And if that's not enough attractions for one town, Blackall is also home to the Black Stump. The Black Stump was the original "astro station" established by the surveyor general in 1887 and was used to support the equipment used to survey Blackall and surrounding towns as the colony expanded. All country west of Blackall became known as "beyond the black stump" and generally considered to be "beyond civilisation". The original stump stood in Blackall for over a hundred years before it was destroyed by fire. It's now been replaced by a steel replica.

To cap off a good day, we were joined by our great friends and fellow travellers, both human and canine, who like us are chasing the sun (and yet to find it). It's lovely to once again be able briefly share our journey with friends.