Although I travelled around Australia visiting all the big cities and coastal tourist havens, the small country town that really won my heart was WINTON, Queensland.I first became aware of Winton when it was the location for films and tv shows featuring my idol, Aaron Pedersen. The whole point of visiting with my travel companion and fellow Pedersen fan, Suzi, was to visit some of the town locations and recreate the scenes (eg: sitting on his bar stool at Tattersall’s Hotel from Total Control – see below) and paying tribute to our screen hero who has apparently now retired without formal notice. Suzi and I actually visited several known locations including Broome which was where his final Mystery Road series was shot (I’ll post a Broome blog later).
Aaron is featured prominently in both the Waltzing Matilda Centre and the Royal Theatre which is the location for the annual Vision Splendid Outback Film Festival which takes place at the end of June. Winton is also home to great opal shops and suppliers, in particular Joe and Natasha of The Opal Miner store who have appeared on the hit tv series, Outback Opal Hunters.
The residents and business owners in Winton are a wonderful bunch – friendly, welcoming and eager to chat about their town – I hope I can do them justice here. So first, let’s chat about Aaron, director Ivan Sen and the impact Mystery Road has had on the town. In the large museum dedicated to legendary poet and journalist A.B. “Banjo” Patterson and his world-famous poem/song Waltzing Matilda, there are numerous phots, movie posters and quotes on Mystery Road/Goldstone that stand out as soon as you walk into the first exhibition hall…
The museum is a treasure trove of historical artifacts from the earliest settlers when sheep were the mainstay of daily life. Shearing equipment, old photos, as well as stockmen’s gear, gold mining artifacts and ANZAC memorabilia – we spent nearly 2hrs going thru the halls and outside into barns…it kept going and going and going. But for any proud Australian, the song Waltzing Matilda is considered the unofficial anthem of the country and brings a tear to any eye, esp. those of us who have been away from home for so long.
If you’re interested in learning more about the centre, log on to: https://www.matildacentre.com.au
Another great heritage site is the famous Royal Theatre which shows movies under the stars and also has a museum attached. Look what was playing the week Suzi and I were in town!! Visit their website for a great virtual tour: https://royaltheatrewinton.com.au/
What a great building to tour – the old box office, the dramatic entrance into the theatre itself with deck chair seating as well as cushioned chairs, with lots of displays around the projection equipment, then into the museum hall with vintage movie posters, cameras and equipment, as well as tributes to locally filmed movies….and lots of Aaron Pedersen pics!
…and outside, they have a Walk of Fame which was created with the Vision Splendid Outback Film Festival (founded by Butch Lenton) hosted at the Royal each year. So many Aussie greats are represented there but we hope Aaron makes it to the sidewalk soon. http://www.visionsplendidfilmfest.com/
Mystery Road fans may also recognize this motel location – the rooms have been reno’d and upgraded since filming several years ago (it’s under new mgmn’t, too) but yes, this is where Jay Swan slept…and so did we!! 
In fact, Mystery Road is all around town…including a back alley garage decoration and a “Pinky’s” sign found in a hair salon window.
The single main street of the town is filled with architectural treasures – typical Aussie pubs and cafes, stores and art installations…
and the sunsets were spectacular, esp. from the patio outside Tattersall’s Hotel. BTW, the food there was deelish.
The other big attraction in Winton for me is the opal market…tons of raw opals and beautifully designed jewellery can be found up and down the street but my fave store to drop into is The Opal Miner. It was such a great experience that I’m dedicating a blog just to their fabulous gems..so stay tuned for my next story. In the meantime, here are a few more random pics of Winton before we head off to the Age of the Dinosaurs archeological park attraction located just outside of Winton. It’s Jurassic Park without the screaming, running and biting!
It was so hot, hot, HOT throughout my stay that only an icy popsicle would help!