In The Middle

The landscape of western Queensland is dramatic. After a good wet season, Mitchell grass grows thickly on the vast plains. Elsewhere the land is stony and dotted with clumps of hardy spinifex. But if you’d travelled this way 95 million years ago, the scenery would have been very different. In the Mid-Cretaceous period forests of conifers, lush ferns and flowering plants covered the land, watered by rivers and streams which flowed into a huge inland sea. And it was inhabited by dinosaurs! 

In August 2022, we followed the Dinosaur Trail through western Queensland, on a route from Winton to Richmond, Hughenden and Muttaburra, all locations where dinosaur fossils have been discovered. Put your Australian Dinosaur Trail Pass in your pocket and join us on a journey back in time to the land of the dinosaurs. 

Muttaburra

As well as being the home of Muttaburrasaurus langdoni, the little town of Muttaburra also has another claim to fame. It is the closest town to the geographic centre of Queensland. To celebrate its unique location, the community created a wonderful monument, rich in symbolism and history.

 Beside the monument is a timeline of the town’s history, in the form of an historical pathway. Pavers placed in chronological order are engraved with significant local events. Posts aligned with the pathway show annual rainfall totals since 1885; their height equals the rainfall for each year. 

The most moving element of the monument is the seating in the meeting place, created by local school children. Symbols on each disc connecting the children to their town, its past, present and future, invite visitors to Muttaburra to sit a while, close to the centre of Queensland. 

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