Let's play statues!

Today (near Yeppoon) I saw my first 'big thing' for the trip - a big whale made out of concrete. He was Soooooo ugly. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera. Queensland seems to be home of the big thing. I'm looking forward to stopping at the Big Pineapple. It holds many fond memories, although I know from a visit a couple of years ago it is sadly in decline. I have a friend whose Year 12 formal was at the Big Pineapple. Now that is a classy formal (Hi R!).

Anyway, in spite of not seeing any big things until today, we've seen lots monuments, statues, markers and other funny things. Of course every town has a war memorial. In Longreach we saw the war memorial which has the names of two of my distant relatives - great great uncles I think, brothers who were killed wihin hours of each other in France, World War 1.

In Barcaldine I paid homage at the Tree of Knowledge monument. The Tree of Knowledge is honoured in the labor movement as the birthplace of the Australian Labor Party - in 1891 striking shearers met under the shade of the tree. In 2006 it was poisoned. However, the proletariat has ensured that the Tree of Knowledge will live on - in a very elaborate monument. It was opened by Anna Bligh in October 2009. No mention of who funded it!





The Singing Ship, erected in 1970 by a patriotic local family of Yeppoon, in honour of Captain Cook's naming of Keppel Bay in 1770.



Camooweal, just over the border from NT



Tropic of Capricorn marker, north of Alice Springs





And again! in Longreach







Tree of Knowledge monument, Barcaldine QLD