Small rural service centre in outback Queensland
Aramac is a tiny rural settlement in central Queensland which has revitalised itself by carefully promoting the wonderful story of Harry Redford and the white bull - to such a point that there are small white bulls scattered around the town and a huge white bull in the centre of the main street. It is also the starting point for the Lake Dunn Sculpture Trail - a 220 km circuit where there are over 25 sculptures for the traveller to admire. Although quiet and peaceful, Aramac is a town determined to intrigue the traveller with its unusual attractions.
Location
Aramac is located 1138 km north-west from Brisbane, 646 km west of Rockhampton and 67 km north of Barcaldine.
^ TOPOrigin of Name
The town's name is almost a joke. An early explorer, William Landsborough, passed through the area in 1859 and gave the name Aramac Creek to a nearby watercourse. He later explained: 'The Aramac, as many wrong reasons for the name have been given, I may say here I named, in honour of the late Sir R. R. Mackenzie, 'Ar-Ar-Mac', who was so well known in Queensland, and who had acted in a very friendly way to me'.
^ TOPThings to See and Do
Aramac Heritage Trail
There is an A3 sheet, available at the Visitor Centre in the Regional Council Offices, which lists a total of 9 places of interest in and around the town. It has an excellent map and information about the attractions. There is also excellent signage around town telling the historical stories of many of the buildings. The best way to explore the town's historic buildings is to start at the Post Office (on the corner of Gordon Street and the Barcaldine-Aramac Road) and walk down Gordon Street where it is possible to see:
Aramac Post Office
Located on Gordon Street, first post office in Aramac was opened on 1st March 1874 and the present building was constructed in 1912. It features one of the many "white bulls" outside - it is Postabull.
War Memorial
Located at the top of Gordon Street, the Aramac War Memorial dates from 1924 and is, according to the Queensland Heritage Register ,"extravagant in scale and design in comparison to the size of the town. It is a dominant landmark in the area and is an uncommon example of a memorial still situated in its original and intact setting." It was designed and built by F M Allen, a monumental masonry firm, and cost £700 which was mostly raised by local young women. "The stone memorial honours the 132 local men who served in the First World War, including fifteen dead and eleven wounded." There is an excellent detailed analysis of the importance of the monument at https://environment.ehp.qld.gov.au/heritage-register/detail/?id=600008.
Queensland National Bank
This usual building - it looks more like a residence than a bank - was built in 1926. The bank had been operating in the town since 1876 and it finally closed its doors in 1967.
Paving the Glory
Along the northern side of Gordon Street are a series of pavers which commemorate "The centenary of Anzac". The project was completed in 2014-2015 by the students in the schools in the Barcaldine Regional Council area. The sentences etched into the pavers are local children's thoughts about what the Anzac legend means to them.
Aramac Tramway Museum
One of the town's few tourist attractions, the Aramac Tramway Museum, is a display of rolling stock located in the tramway's Goods Shed on the southern side of town. It is open for inspection from 9.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. each day and, in the unlikely event of it being locked, a key is obtainable from the Regional Council Offices.
The building is listed on the Queensland Heritage Register which notes that: "The principal elements of the Tramway Museum are the goods shed, six other buildings, other structures and relics of the Tramway, rolling stock, the local history collection housed in the goods shed, and machinery and vehicles in the open air.
"The most substantial relic of the tramway is the goods shed, built at the time the line opened in 1913, and used for the entire period it operated. The goods shed is rectangular in plan, about 30 metres long and 10 metres wide. It is timber-framed with a corrugated iron roof, and clad with chamferboards externally. The roof is unlined, and there is an air gap of about 20 centimetres between the roof and the tops of the side walls. The interior walls have been lined with opened-out wool bales, displaying the station brands of the Aramac district that once travelled on the tramway ... On the railway side of the goods shed, a concrete platform four metres wide runs the entire length of the building, and extends 10 metres further at the southern end.
"The interior of the goods shed is dominated by the rail motor 'Aunt Emma', which is positioned in a cage of steel pipe and wire mesh running down the central axis of the building. As the cage is about three metres wide and 24 metres long, it leaves little space inside the building. Around the rail motor cage is a corridor a little more than a metre wide, fenced on both sides. Historical material is displayed between the fenced corridor and the walls of the goods shed.
"At the northern end of the goods shed, an area three metres wide running the width of the building has been set up as the Tramway Office, with a safe, desks and cupboards, some from the goods shed and some removed from the demolished railway station. Most of the collection in this area is directly relevant to the tramway: there are original tickets, waybills, reports. rubber stamps, and some important memorabilia preserved from the tramway closure, including a handwritten feltpen notice advising: "Due to the closure of this tramway all goods and parcels will have to be collected from goods shed, office and railway wagons before 4.00 pm Wednesday 31-12-75". On the wall is a photocopy of the cheque from the Australian Sugar Producers Association for £262,400, dated 10 June 1976. There are some historic photographs of the tramway on display, and two interpretation signs, one about the closure and one about 'Aunt Emma'. There are also rate assessment books and other Council documents on display in this area." For more details check out https://environment.ehp.qld.gov.au/heritage-register/detail/?id=601172.
Other Attractions in the Area
Lake Galilee
Lake Galilee is located 93 km north-east of the town. Lake Galilee is a saltwater lake which covers about 15,000 ha and is 40 km long. It is the only wetlands area in central Queensland and consequently is a wildlife sanctuary which is the home to a large waterfowl population. There is a useful brochure which can be downloaded at http://www.barcaldinerc.qld.gov.au/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=589df06e-4c19-4e13-baa9-559674f73325&groupId=311418.
Lake Dunn
Located 68 km north east of Aramac is Lake Dunn, known to the locals as 'The Lake'. It is a freshwater lake which is is 3.21 km long and 1.6 km wide. It was named after James Dunn, who was a head stockman at Mt Cornish Station, who discovered it when he was looking for a mob of cattle. The lake is popular with locals who use it for swimming, water-skiing, windsurfing, sailing, camping and for picnics. Lake Dunn is home to over 80 different species of birds. It is also an excellent fishing spot for Golden Perch (yellow belly) and Black Bream. The facilities include waterfront holiday huts, tennis courts, an airstrip, and a camping ground with power, toilets and hot and cold showers. The foreshores have good stands of red river gums and coolibahs. For Cabin hire, tel: (07) 4651 0565.
Lake Dunn Sculpture Trail
The Lake Dunn Sculpture Trail is a circuit from Aramac to Lake Dunn (67 km) down south for 60 km and back to Aramac (93 km). In total it is a round trip of 220 km across the dry flat plains of western Queensland with a total of over 25 sculptures. There is an excellent map available at the Information Centre which has a check list of the all of the sculptures. Apart from the sculptures the trail also passes:
(a) Healing Circle
The modern stone healing circle, which is located about halfway along the road from Aramac to Lake Dunn, which is reputedly connected to other healing circles in Japan, Tibet, Madagascar, Peru, Turkey and the USA. When the visitor steps into the centre they are supposed to be connected to the energies of all seven circles. The circle is used for prayer, meditation and healing of the mind, body and soul. It is located on private property.
(b) Gray Rock on the Lake Dunn Sculpture Trail
There are ancient Aboriginal inscriptions and carvings on Gray Rock and there is also, as a sign at the rock points out, names engraved on the sandstone rock which could have been made, originally, by coach passengers in the 19th century. There was once a hotel at the site and it was a place where Cobb & Co stopped to water their horses. The rock is signposted on the final part of the Lake Dunn loop. There is useful additional information at http://www.sunzine.net/outback/aramac/aramac-outback.html.
Remembering Harry Redford and the White Bull
In Queensland, in the 1870s, bushcraft, courage and delivering a bloody nose to the owners (“toffs”) of the new, and huge, cattle stations was seen as an heroic and noble endeavour worthy of admiration, not censure.
Harry Redford who, less than a decade after Burke and Wills had so comprehensively lost their way in western Queensland, stole 100 bullocks, 100 cows, 100 heifers, 100 steers and one white bull from Bowen Downs Station and drove them down the Cooper Creek and into South Australia.
It was an extraordinary achievement which Rolf Boldrewood later used as the basis for his novel Robbery Under Arms with its main character Captain Starlight. In old age people used to refer to Redford as “Captain Starlight”.
The only problem with the achievement was that none of the cattle belonged to Redford. While working on Bowen Downs this enterprising son of a convict (he was born near the Hawkesbury River in 1842 and was a huge man who stood over two metres tall) realised that Bowen Downs, which was running around 70,000 head on 1.75 million acres, really wouldn't miss 401 cattle.
His only mistake was the white bull. He needed it as the leader but it was very distinctive and easily identifiable.
Redford drove the cattle 1300 km through marginal desert country down the Cooper Creek to the Blanche Water station in northern South Australia where he sold them for £5000.
However the disappearance of the white bull was noted and in February 1871 Redford was arrested and brought back to Roma to be tried.
From the outset the trial was more entertainment than serious investigation. Locals, captivated by Redford's consummate bushcraft and daring, packed the courtroom. The white bull stood in a yard outside the courthouse. Forty-one of the forty-eight people called as possible jurors were dismissed because they were prejudiced. The white bull took part in a bovine line up with twenty other bulls and was immediately identified by its owner.
The evidence against Redford was overwhelming. The defence offered no witnesses and complained that Redford had been gaoled without trial. The jury retired for an hour and then delivered their verdict.
The court transcript reads:
Judge: What is your verdict?
Foreman of the Jury: We find the prisoner 'Not Guilty'.
Judge: What?
Foreman of the Jury: Not guilty.
Judge: I thank God, gentlemen, that the verdict is yours, not mine!
After his acquittal Redford headed into northern Australia where, by the 1880s, he was managing the famous Brunette Downs station.
As for Roma, well the verdict so outraged the legal establishment that it is effectively banned the town from holding "trials by jury" because it was felt that the locals could not be trusted to punish criminals they admired.
On 5 April, 1873 the governor of Queensland ordered that "the criminal jurisdiction of the District Court at Roma be withdrawn for two years".
A sculpture of the famous White Bull now stands on Gordon Street; the local sports centre is now named the Harry Redford Community and Sporting Centre; and each year the Harry Redford Cattle Drive starts in Aramac and makes its way down into South Australia.
History
* Little is known about the area's original inhabitants although they were probably members of the Iningai language group.
* The area was first explored by Europeans and settled in the 1850s.
* The town was named after Robert Ramsay Mackenzie who travelled through the area in the 1850s.
* William Landsborough explored the flat plains in 1859.
* The area was settled in the 1860s and the town, which seems to have had the alternative name of 'Marathon' for a short time, acquired a pub and a general store.
* Bowen Downs station was established in 1862.
* Aramac Station was established a year later in 1863.
* A general store was opened on Aramac Creek in 1867.
* It is known that there was a massacre of more than 25 local Aborigines at Mailman's Gorge in the 1860s.
* Aramac was declared a town, and the town reserve established, in 1869. The first policeman arrived that year.
* In 1870 Harry Redford stole 400 head of cattle from Bowen Downs station and overlanded them down the Cooper Creek to South Australia.
* Aramac Post Office opened in 1874.
* The town was surveyed in 1875 but by that time the wide streets (apparently one of the locals had been impressed by the streets in Melbourne and had decided to copy them) were established and the surveyor confirmed the design.
* The Queensland National Bank opened its door in 1875.
* Aramac State School was opened in 1878 with an enrolment of 12 students.
* In 1879 the local hospital was opened.
* In 1880 the Aramac Divisional Board was established.
* The Bank of New South Wales opened its doors in 1898.
* In 1909 Aramac Shire Council, still isolated from the surrounding area, borrowed £66,500 and built a tramway connecting the town to the main railway line at Barcaldine. That year a new hospital was built.
* The railway between Barcaldine and Aramac was opened in 1913.
* In 1914 thermal baths were developed in the town.
* The town's Memorial Park was opened in 1949.
* In 1952 the swimming pool was opened.
* The Aramac tramway ceased operating in 1975. It was the last privately owned rail line in Queensland.
* The Tramway Museum was opened in 1994.
^ TOPVisitor Information
Visitor Information can be had at the Barcaldine Regional Council, 35 Gordon Street, tel: (07) 4652 9999, Open Monday to Friday, 8.00 am - 4.30 pm.
^ TOPAccommodation
Aramac Hotel, Gordon Street, tel: (07) 4651 3262
^ TOPEating
Aramac Hotel, Gordon Street, tel: (07) 4651 3262
BP Fuel and Cafe, Lodge Street, tel: (07) 4651 3256
^ TOPUseful Websites
There is a useful and downloadable brochure which can be accessed at http://www.barcaldinerc.qld.gov.au/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=54d4d0c3-2608-43c4-b7b8-f65435f6fbd6&groupId=311418. Also check http://www.barcaldinerc.qld.gov.au/tourismaramac.
^ TOP
There were three pubs in Aramac when I was there in the late 50s. One two-storey pub opposite a ground level pub and one around near the Tramway platform. I don’t remember their names.
I worked on Clare station out past Lake Dunn but the boss was a cranky old bastard so I headed back to Longreach for work.
On the way back I stopped into Leichhardt station and after about two or three days I slipped on the dry Blue Mitchell grass whilst drafting sheep in temporary yards. One of the bolts on the temporary yard ‘hurdles’, as we called them, gouged a track across my leg that had me in stitches in the Aramac hospital.
After that little episode, I carried on to the ‘reach and found work easy.
I have a story regarding Aramac. In my search for a lost Uncle I found that he is buried in Aramac cemetery. A little about my uncle: he was my mother’s brother. He served in the second world war, and was in the fall of Singapore. He was a POW on the Burma railway. I know little of his life other than a few facts that I’ve collected. My mother at the age of 6 lost her family due to her father leaving the family to go to Sydney … never to be heard of again. This left my Grandmother in an impossible situation. There were 3 Kids all under 6. My Uncle was adopted by an undertaker in Cobden Victoria. My mother never saw her brother again and lived in Warrnambool some 60 Km away. My uncle had a name change from Stewart Jenkin to Stewart Webb. I have spoken to people that knew Stewart before the war. On his return after the wars end he was a cook on a droving team. Stewart has been in the Aramac cemetery since around 1968. The local council were fantastic to deal with regarding information relating his death. Later this year we intend visiting Aramac to visit his grave
Well I have visited the grave of my uncle in 2019. It was one of the best things I have ever done. I spent time just sitting there thinking of his time in the POW camps and how different my life was to his even though we never met there is a lot of love between us,
My father was the publican of the Royal hotel between 1961 – 1962. The other two hotels were the Aramac and the Marathon which was only a boarding house – no beer sales. I went to school there grade 7 & 8 straight from St. Patrick College Brisbane wearing full uniform to bare foot, shorts, t shirt, large cowboy hat at Aramac primary. My fathers name was Bill Price
My grandfather Percy Melville Wiseman died in Aramac in 1949, supposedly drowning on his horse in a dam. Would anyone have any information of this, or know where I might find out.
I came upon the name Aramac when researching my great grandfather’s ancestry. According to the electoral rolls, he (John Munro) lived in Burt St, Aramac between, at least, 1912 and 1946. He was listed as a carpenter and lived in Burt St. His first wife, Agnes, died in 1897 and John then married Annie Purvis in 1915. Annie seems to have been the daughter of a shearer called Arthur Purvis. If anyone knows anything about the Munro family, I would be most grateful for relevant information.
My Mother in law was a nurse at the Aramac Hospital before WW2 and we think married a Sheep farmer after being hired as a Nanny/Cook. She ended up having 3 children by him but left the abusive marriage during the War and worked in the Rockhampton Base Hospital tending to injured returning soldiers evacuated from PNG. Her name was Jean Berry. We visited the Aramac Hospital years ago in 2005 and were given a tour by an aging Wardsman who was being interviewed at the time as a living history. The Operating Theatre still had all of the instruments in their cupboards – fascinating. Does anybody have any info on Nurse Jean Berry from Lancashire in the UK?.
We think the Graziers name was Fox.
Oops. The hospital was in Muttaburra not Aramac, sorry!