Winton is a town and locality in the Shire of Winton in Central West Queensland, Australia. It is 177 kilometres (110 mi) northwest of Longreach. The main industries of the area are sheep and cattle raising. The town was named in 1876 by postmaster Robert Allen, after his place of birth, Winton, Dorset. At the 2011 census, Winton had a population of 954. Winton was the first home of the airline Qantas.
Geography
In 2015 the Sydney Morning Herald reported that recent seismic studies indicated that 300 million years ago an asteroid or comet struck the area releasing energy equivalent to 650 Hiroshima A-bombs. Richard Blewett, a senior official with Geoscience Australia, described how it was a long circular arc in the course of the Diamantina River near Winton that triggered the curiosity that prompted seismic studies. The strike left geomagnetic anomalies over an area 130 kilometres (81 mi) in diameter.
Dinosaurs
The area surrounding the town has yielded a number of dinosaur fossils, including 'Elliot', a sauropod. In 2009, three dinosaur genera, Australovenator, Wintonotitan and Diamantinasaurus, were discovered near the town. Australovenator wintonensis, the type specimen of that genus, is named after the town. The town also lent its name to the Winton Formation.
Great Artesian Basin
Winton is situated on the Great Artesian Basin. The water supply bursts to the surface at 83C degrees and is then channeled through cooling ponds before being distributed to the town. Sulphur gas gives the water an 'eggy' smell.
Street Names
The main streets in the town of Winton were named after the stations which were in the direction in which the streets were running. For instance, east and west — Elderslie, Vindex, Cork and Dagworth. Those facing the north were called Oondooroo, Manuka, Sesbania and Werna. Three of these stations Dagworth, Vindex and Oondooroo figure in the Waltzing Matilda story.
History
Winton was one of the founding towns of the Australian airline Qantas. The first board meeting was held at the Winton Club on 10 February 1921.
Vickers Viscount accident
On 22 September 1966, Ansett-ANA Flight 149, a Vickers Viscount aircraft crashed on Nadjayamba Station 12 miles (19 km) west of Winton, killing all 24 people on board. On the fortieth anniversary of the accident a memorial was unveiled in the main street of Winton.
2015 Waltzing Matilda Centre Fire
On the night of 17 June 2015, fire broke out in the Waltzing Matilda Centre, the building that housed town's information centre and a museum housing a collection of historic artifacts. Firefighters arrived within minutes to find the rear of the building engulfed in flames, the teams fought desperately to save the front of the building and any artifacts that hadn't already been destroyed. Despite all efforts, the entire structure was reduced to a smoldering wreck with little evidence of the building ever housing such a unique museum.The fire has been deemed unsuspicious and investigators are currently[when?] looking for clues to the cause of the blaze. Until the building is either rebuilt or re-located, a makeshift information centre will be moved to a vacant premises inside the town. The building was unoccupied at the time of the fire and there were no casualties.
Attractions
Winton is intimately involved in the story of the popular Australian folk song, "Waltzing Matilda", which had its first performance in the North Gregory Hotel in the town. The Waltzing Matilda Centre opened in 1998 and is the first museum dedicated to a song. The song was written by 'Banjo' Paterson whilst holidaying at a local property, Dagworth Station. The music for the song was arranged by Christina Macpherson, the sister of the station manager who was visiting at the same time.
In 2012, to remind Australians of the song's significance, Winton organised the inaugural Waltzing Matilda Day to be held on 6 April, the anniversary of its first performance.
Royal Theatre
The historic Royal Theatre is one of the few remaining open air picture theatres in Australia and home to the World's Largest Deckchair which was originally constructed in Victoria by the Freemasons Taskforce in 2002 and donated to Winton and the Royal Theatre by the members of that taskforce in April 2005.
Outback Festival
The biennial Outback Festival is held each odd calendar year in September. The festival is held over five days draws. The event was billed in the '100 Things To Do in Australia Before You Die' list from Australian Traveller magazine and is one of 19 Queensland events and attractions to make this epic list coming in at no. 81. The final 100 was culled from an original list of 800.
The Outback Festival has been recognized since 1991 winning many Outback Queensland Tourism accolades including the recent 2012 Winner of the Outback Queensland Tourism Awards for Festivals and Events and finalist at the Queensland Regional Achievement and Community Awards. The Festival being one of three chosen from over 90 Queensland organizations for the Community of Year Award. Featured events include the Quilton Australian Dunny Derby. The Outback Century Cycle Challenge is also held over this event period - attracting competitors from all over Australia for their one chance in every two years of mastering the outback course.
Arno's Wall
Arno's wall is a strange mixture of art and architecture. Cemented contents of the wall include rusted lawnmower parts, boat propellers, vintage typewriters and sewing machines and even a couple of complete motorbikes. A photograph of the wall by Gordon Undy is in the National Library of Australia digital collection.
Heritage listings
Winton has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
Other facilities
Winton's visitor centre is located in the Waltzing Matilda Centre. The town has a range of museums including the heritage listed former Corfield and Fitzmaurice emporium as well as the heritage truck and machinery museum. Winton has a range of facilities available to the public; these include a public library, showground, racecourse, golf, bowls, skate park and swimming facilities. Winton Airport is located about 5.6 kilometres northeast of Winton.
Climate
Winton is dry with summer temperatures ranging from 23 °C to 38 °C while temperatures in the 'winter' season range from 9 °C to 25 °C. Temperatures above 30 °C can be experienced throughout the year, and even hotter temperatures above 40 °C can be recorded in every month from October to March. Rainfall is concentrated in summer and the yearly average is 414.7 mm