Winton

Winton claims two national stories. Banjo Paterson's Waltzing Matilda was first performed publicly at the North Gregory Hotel here in April 1895, and the Waltzing Matilda Centre in town, rebuilt after a fire, covers the song, its disputed origins and the shearers' strike that shaped it. Second, the plains around Winton hold one of the world's richest concentrations of dinosaur fossils; at Lark Quarry, about a hundred and ten kilometres southwest, a slab of rock preserves thousands of footprints made by small dinosaurs around ninety-five million years ago, protected under a building and shown on guided tours. Winton is also boulder opal country, and the Bladensburg National Park lies just south.

What you actually see

• The Waltzing Matilda Centre - the song's history and the shearers' strike.
• Lark Quarry - thousands of preserved dinosaur footprints under cover.
• The opal fields - boulder opal country around the town.
• The outback plains - jump-ups and grassland in Bladensburg National Park.

When to go

April to September; summer regularly passes forty degrees and outdoor sites are punishing. The Vision Splendid outback film festival falls in June or July. Lark Quarry tours run to a set daily schedule and the access road is partly unsealed.

Honest expectations

Lark Quarry is a two-hour round trip on a road that is rough in places, and the footprints are subtle rather than dramatic. Winton is remote with limited accommodation. Summer heat is extreme and many businesses reduce hours.

Nearby

The Australian Age of Dinosaurs museum is on a mesa nearby; Longreach lies southeast.