Driving through Warwick on a Saturday afternoon, an unusually hot day, I find myself doing a double take. Having flown from Cairns to Brisbane, driven by way of the Cunningham Highway, it’s been a long day. Did I really see that…a man walking down the street with a llama on a lead? Yes, I did!
Warwick, the first free settlement in Queensland, offering rich grazing land to the pioneers, is known for being the horsepower capital of Australia, the annual rodeo held each October, so I’m not sure why I’m surprised. It’s not all about farming, nor roses and rodeos, however, it offers so much more. It is a charming country town.
Heritage walks
To get my bearings, I begin exploring its history by taking one of five different walks that are promoted around town – the CBD Walk taking in its renowned sandstone buildings including St Mary’s Church, the Court House, Masonic Temple, the Town Hall…each with its own story, the architecture stunning.
History
Delving deeper at the Historical Society’s Pringle Cottage Museum Complex, the heritage-listed cottage built by Scottish stonemason John McCulloch, I’m taken back in time through different rooms filled with items donated by settlers’ families and can feel how the pioneers lived and worked hard to develop the land. I loved the school room and the example of a child’s lines – ‘I must not dunk girls’ plaits in the inkwells!’ Also, within the complex there’s an example of a shepherd’s hut, a building representing the local newspaper printing office, and a fantastic display of machinery and tools.
And, if you’d like to sleep in one of Warwick’s historic buildings, you can stay at the Abbey Boutique Hotel in a “Cozy Nun’s Cell” for $175 per night, enjoy a group tour plus morning or afternoon tea…or a Murder Mystery Dinner. Sadly, it does not offer tea if you are travelling alone. There are many other accommodation options of course including The Country Rose Motel, The Horse and Jockey and The Jackie Howe Hotel, and if you wanted a more secluded option The Hut near Killarney offers a farm stay designed using recycled materials and has breathtaking 360 degree views over the owner’s cattle farm.
If you happen to visit in July, you can enjoy the quirky Jumpers and Jazz festival when scarves are tied around trees that have lost their leaves to keep them warm…or the Killarney Bonfire night which is heralded in by a pipe band!
Around Warwick there’s so much to explore including Killarney and the Queen Mary Falls Drive – see our blog here