Some readers will know of the song Augathella Station by the Australian Folk Group The Bushwackers. This is a song Nina and I have listened to for over 40 years and today we will finally get to visit the town of Augathella which is in Queensland cattle country and is central to the song.
However before leaving Tambo we investigated the subject of Tambo Teddies a local business of making toy Teddy Bears entirely of lambs wool. The business has been in operation for over 30 years.
The other claim to fame for the town of Tambo is that it was the site of the first crash of a QANTAS plane, not a pleasant event to celebrate.
In Augathella we discovered that the town or region has a couple of claims to fame in addition to the Bush Wackers song. It is the home of the story of Smiley a book written by a resident of the town which in the 1950s was made into an Australian film and which I saw as a child. In addition the district is the home of a famous (to older generations only) Australian actor Chips Rafferty who played a role in the movie Smiley.
In the park in Augathella there is a larger-than-life statue of and information about "meat ants".
The elderly gentleman is showing us his pet South America tropical pet birds which he and his wife have travelling with them.
We camped the night in an informal campground just East of Charleville.