Miles to Roma

There is something quite magical about our outback. It’s not just the intensity of the light and the colours in the landscape. I put it down to its proximity to raw, real life. I don’t mean typical life, which for the majority of Australians is cloistered, convenient, 24/7 living in a big city, where anything you want can be had by virtually snapping your fingers. I mean real living, where you are constantly on theedge and there are no safety nets.

 

In the outback, if you want to get some groceries then you may have to drive for 100km. Or grow your own, and then be at the mercy of our unforgiving droughts. Your income is likely derived from the land, where again you are the mercy of the clouds.

 

Life is far harder, more elemental, and apart from some modern conveniences is much like it was for our colonial forebears. You can feel the energy and excitement of this sort of living just driving through the landscape of the outback.

 

Driving between towns hundreds of kilometres apart, keeping a watchful eye on the fuel gauge, because there isn’t a servo on every corner anymore; there aren’t even any corners.

 

Miles and Roma are at the gateway to Queensland’s outback experiences. Even though the towns are readily accessible, as one local put it as we futilely looked for groceries on a Sunday, “You’re in the bush, now.” And you can really feel it as the vast country rolls past, starkly beautiful, magnetic and menacing. And dry. The family and I were acutely aware of how dry the country has become.

 

Dead grass, dead fields, dead weeds, dead rivers. You really do feel for the locals and the farmers, and we were glad to visit and do our modest bit for the local economy. If the locals were suffering, they certainly didn’t show it and we experienced nothing but

the best of storybook country hospitality and cutting edge tourist attractions.

 

At Miles, which is big rig friendly with its provision of ample parking, you can visit the superb Dogwood Crossing @ Miles. Dogwood Crossing was the name Ludwig Leichhardt originally gave to Miles, in honour of the blooming Dogwood, or Jacksonia, shrubs.

Dogwoods are relatives from the pea family, and you can recognise this in their familiar wing and keel formation.

 

Incidentally, if you are looking for an alternative route between Melbourne and Rockhampton then you can follow more of Leichhardt’s journey along the Leichhardt Highway.

 

Dogwood Crossing @ Miles is a state of the art facility built around the towering sculptures of iconic bottle trees. Part library, part tourist centre, it offers local artist’s displays as well as the history of the town and region. Something you’ll want to grab from Dogwood Crossing is the self-drive tour guides. This is especially true during spring when the native wildfl owers bloom and the surrounding bush erupts in colour.

 

If you enjoy either civil or military history, then you must visit the Miles Historical Village. There, an entire village street has been recreated, along with a number of other historical buildings and huts. My three-year old daughter was particularly taken by the swinging saloon doors to the pub (I think it’s genetic).

 

There are also a number of buildings containing military displays of photographs, stories, models, medals, uniforms, weapons and machinery. These displays always send a shiver down my spine as I imagine what our poor service men and women had to endure.

 

A couple of outback minutes (140km to you and me) travelling west from Miles is Roma, the capital of the Western Downs and the service centre for much of South West Queensland. That’s good news for travellers wishing to stock up or simply wanting to get in a bit of shopping.

 

The Tourist Information Centre in Roma is excellent. It sits amongst pretty parkland, complete with pond, ducks and geese. The gardens are lovely and landscaped and you can visit the historic Lenroy Slab Hut. Inside the centre itself is a tourist shop, café, a plethora of tourist information and the main attraction – The Big Rig.

 

One hundred years ago in Roma, a crew was drilling for water when they struck something quite unexpected – gas. This heralded the birth of Australia’s oil and gas industry, and this is celebrated by the Big Rig attraction. As you walk through landscaped gardens, audio and visual displays recreate Roma’s oil and gas history, from the time of dinosaurs through to the present moment.

 

What unfolds is a tale of mystery, international intrigue, betrayal and, depending on your viewpoint, triumph against the odds or just sheer stupidity. I think the blokes will see it as the former, the ladies as the latter (the ladies being far more sensible about these sorts of things). To give you a hint of what you are in store for, Roma had Australia’s first gas lights, which burned out after just a few days – after they let gas erupt unused into the atmosphere for over five years.

 

If you prefer to get your information in a more cinematic format, book in for the Big Rig Night Show. Bright lights and flames punctuate the film as the story rolls through the projector. Something enjoyed by locals and tourists alike is the Anungadoo Pathway, a 1.7km pathway along Bungil Creek. It starts at the Tourist Information Centre and finishes at the Avenue of Heroes, in town. Heroes Avenue features 138 bottle trees that were planted in tribute to the fallen soldiers from the Roma district that lost their lives during the First World War. The bottle trees along Heroes Avenue are iconic of Roma and the region. There is some confusion, however, as to what the bottle trees actually are.

They are not, as many would believe, Boab (or Baoboab) trees. These grow either in Western Australia or Africa. No, the local bottle tree is a Brachychiton, and like any good drama, the resemblance to persons or plants either living or dead is purely coincidental.

 

Another iconic member of the plant world is Prickly Pear (Opuntia inermis), though this one is reviled rather than revered. While in Roma (or Miles) you can fi nd out a great deal about the Prickly Pear and the devastation it wrought throughout Queensland. At its peak in 1925, the rapacious cactus covered 264,000 square kilometres. To put that in perspective, that’s 75% of the landmass of Japan. The cactus was spreading at a rate of kilometres per day. Fortunately a saviour was found in the form of a little caterpillar, the Cactoblastis. This little insect was able to reduce the Prickly Pear to pulp, and complete control of the weed was declared by 1940.

 

At the end of Heroes Avenue is the grand St Paul’s Anglican Church. It iconstructed from concrete blocks made during the Great War and features stained glass and leadlight windows which date back to 1875. The church wouldn’t be out of place in a pretty village in Europe.

 

A beautiful spot to take a break, perhaps after a long day of sightseeing, is Roma Villa winery. It is the oldest winery in Queensland, operating since 1863, and has lovely photos and letters providing glimpses into its past. The winery operates out of a giant barn which is filled with oak barrels large and small, and appears just as you imagine a winery should, redolent with character and charm. You can soak in this charm while you soak in some wines and fortifieds at the cellar door, and you have 18 varieties to taste. After the wine tasting, you may need some fresh air the next day. What better way to clear the cobwebs than a stroll about town with the Roma Historic Walk self-guided tour in hand. You don’t actually have to walk too far to see the tour’s 25 points of historical interest.

 

You’ll also learn where the pub is, if you need any hair of the dog.

 

WHERE TO STAY

 

ROMA BIG RIG TOURIST PARK
4 McDowell St, Roma
(07) 4622 2538
E: [email protected]

 

ROMA AUSSIE TOURIST PARK
6 Bowen St, Roma
(07) 4622 6464
E: [email protected]
www.romaaussie.com.au

 

TOURIST INFORMATION

 

ROMA VISITOR INFORMATION CENTRE
2 Rigger’s Road, Roma QLD 4455
1800 222 399 or (07) 4622 8676
E: [email protected] or
[email protected]
www.thebigrig.com.au

 

GETTING THERE

 

Roma and Miles are both located along the Warrego Hwy, which you can join from Toowoomba in the east or Charleville in the west.

 

CHEAP TREATS

 

THE BIG RIG OIL PATCH
Located at the Tourist Information Centre
Open every day except Christmas Day and Boxing Day, 9am to 5pm.

 

CAMPING ON CATTLE PROPERTY
Located 12km west of Roma on the Warrego Highway.

 

CHAPTERS OF ROMA
Fine books, fine coffee,
46 Wyndham St, Roma

 

BAKEAROMA
Coffee shop and bakery,
63 McDowall St, Roma
(07) 4622 4399

 

MILES HISTORICAL VILLAGE
Warrego Hwy, Miles
(07) 4627 1492
E: [email protected].
Open every day from 8am to 5pm except Christmas Day. www.mhv.org.au

 

FREE ACTIVITIES

 

ROMA VILLA WINERY WINE TASTING
Northern Road, Roma 4455
(07) 4622 1822
E: romawine@
romavilla.com
www.romavilla.com

 

ADUNGADOO PATHWAY
Start at Roma’s Tourist Information Centre

 

DOGWOOD CROSSING @ MILES
Cnr Leichhardt and
Warrego Hwys, Miles
QLD 4415
(07) 4628 5566
E: [email protected].
www.dogwoodcrossing.com

 

ROMA BUNGIL SALEYARDS
Australia’s largest cattle selling facility
2km west of the Tourist Information Centre
(07) 4624 0402, Tuesdays or Thursdays

 

ST PAUL’S ANGLICAN CHURCH
Tours operate Tuesdays or Thursdays, or by appointment.
Arthur St
(07) 4622 4623

 

MILES SELF-DRIVE TOURS
Start at Dogwood Crossing for maps.