What a lovely little town Winton is! We came off the desert into this lovely, clean town with wide streets and interesting shopfronts. And very quickly we found out there is a lot to learn about Winton – Banjo Patterson wrote ‘Waltzing Matilda’ when he lived here; opals are found all over this area; Australian western films like ‘Mystery Road’, ‘Goldstone’ and ‘The Proposition ‘ were filmed in the desert around here; dinosaur fossils and footprints have been discovered close to town; and about a quarter of the population of this area joined the armed forces in the First World War with a similar number in the second war. I got a very strong feeling that the Winton locals are proud of their town and their history, and are keen to share it with visitors.

Winton has managed to mix the new with the old. The main street is welcoming and care has been taken to make it look interesting and inviting. I love the way it has, for example, a modern, well stocked chemist and newsagent interspersed with the old fashioned Tattersals Hotel, and the Australian Hotel with old Western style tables and chairs outside. The modern real estate office reminds us of the history with a couple of horse saddles perched outside.

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The biggest attractions in Winton I’m sure are the dinosaur exhibitions. We considered going to the ‘stampede’ but it was quite a way out of town and there were other things we wanted to see. An opal shop did have a plaque of the dinosaur footprints so that was fine for us!

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That same opal shop has a display of gorgeous modern opal jewelry but also has an exhibition on the mining of opals and a nod to the hot, dirty work it still is to find these semi-precious gemstones. It was so interesting.

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Another attraction on the main street is the ‘Waltzing Matilda’ museum. They advertise themselves as being the only museum based on a song. I was hesitant about going in based on this but we do try to give to small communities and decided we would have a look. We are so glad we did, it was great. The exhibition, whilst based around Banjo Paterson and his famous song, also relates much of Winton’s history to words in the song.

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Inside, the museum is beautifully done with four different sections. Of course a lot of the exhibits and information focus on Banjo Paterson’s time in Winton and his poetry, particularly Waltzing Matilda. However, there were also interesting relics from old Winton.

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Among the exhibits about the various Australian westerns made between Middleton and Winton, was the script for ‘The Proposition’ plus the storyboard.

The museum had acquired the old Winton train, together with ticket office. They had turned the carriages into a tribute to the Winton men and women who went to war. It was beautifully done with photos and stories.

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This was a museum worth visiting. We both thoroughly enjoyed it but, just like the swagman, we went back to the caravan to wait for our Billy to boil!