Cloncurry is a place that you plan to go to, it is close to Mt Isa, and actually almost the junction for 4 highways (the Matilda Highway – north and south; the Flinders Highway – from the east and the Barkley Highway heading to Mt Isa). Outback towns have a certain something about them, and Cloncurry fits into that description well.

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I have been to the Curry three or four times now, and it never fails to impress me. But, first things first, you need to be able to set the van up, or unpack into a cabin. So, why not aim for the Cloncurry Caravan Park Oasis, which is on the Flinders Highway about 1km from the town centre.

One of the things that you need here is shade, winter is the perfect season and summer is somewhat hot! You can choose from a large powered site (the park is set up to take up to 13m rigs), and unpowered site (all with shade) or from their range of 8 self contained cabins or 5 cabins without bathrooms. It all depends on your wants, needs and budget. As there are two amenity blocks, no-one has to go far. For those hot days, there is a lovely salt water pool to relax in, and I can assure you that at then end of the day the swimmers go on and the relaxation is just wonderful.

It is worth spending a little time here too before you head off on the next part of your outback trek. Did you know that Burke and Wills are said to be the first Europeans to come to the area. In 1861 John McKinley and his expedition went looking for Burke and Wills, but he actually found traces of copper. In 1867 Ernest Henry (a pastoralist) found the copper mother lode and that was the beginning of the area, and also why the copper mine was called Ernest Henry. There was a copper boom during the first World War, but afterwards the price slumped so it was back to farming.

In 1928 Cloncurry became a base for the Royal Flying Doctor Service and there is an excellent museum there which gives plenty of information on how John Flynn combined the ‘modern’ technology of pedal radio and planes – a fascinating story and the RFDS is still so important today.

The cemetery is interesting, from an historical point of view, with Chinese graves from the brief goldrush and Afghani graves (all aligned to Mecca) from the camel trains that kept the area supplied with food and other essentials.

Cloncurry is a lovely mixture of new and old, and it is worth booking into the Cloncurry Caravan Park Oasis for a few days to see it all.

Cloncurry Caravan Park Oasis
McIlwraith Street
Cloncurry  QLD  4824
Ph: 07 4742 1313
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
www.cloncurrycaravanparkoasis.com.au

Review by Alison Huth posted December 2010

Photos from tourism websites