Cue, Western Australia (HD)
Cue, Western Australia (HD) - Cue, WA Tourism and vacation
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The small town of Cue in Western Australia's Murchison Region is to me a particularly interesting outback town. Like so many old WA mining towns, Cue has thrived and floundered over the years with times of boom and bust.
The town was established in 1893 following the discovery of gold in the area the year before, which sparked a gold rush to the remote Murchison Region desert. In its heyday at the beginning of the twentieth century Cue was home to over 10000 people, a thriving and prosperous town known as The Queen of the Murchison.
These days things couldn't be more different. With a population of less than 300, Cue is very close to being a ghost town.
When we visited Cue earlier this year the wide streets were still and silent beneath a big blue desert sky. The whole time we were there we didn't see a single soul walking around town and we noticed a good number of the buildings were abandoned or up for lease.
The empty streets of Cue would have felt really quite spooky if it weren't for the constant parade of roadtrains roaring through on their way between Perth and the Pilbara carrying fuel and massive pieces of mining equipment. This for me is what made Cue such a memorable place -- the decay and ghostliness of the semi-abandoned town, and the way it felt as if time had stood still there ever since the 1930′s.
However I have a feeling that Cue might be quite a different place in a few years time as the shire seems to be going to some effort to restore the town's buildings to their former glory and attract more visitors to the town and surrounding region. And with rumours of a new big mine opening in the area, the population could soon be set to rise again.
Gracious Heritage Architecture in Cue
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Walking around the streets of Cue feel like stepping back in time. Not much appears to have changed on the main street over the years. Almost all of the buildings are the original ones that were built in the 1890′s and 1900′s -- some still serving their original purpose, some beautifully restored and others abandoned and left to ruin.
While a lot of the old heritage Goldrush-era buildings look crumbling and decrepit, I can still understand why Cue's town slogan is Queen of the Murchison. Some of the old sandstone buildings sure are grand for a dusty outpost in the middle of nowhere!
Visiting and Exploring Around Cue, Western Australia
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If you happen to be heading up Great Northern Highway for any reason -- on your way to Karijini and the Pilbara perhaps -- then I highly recommend making a stop in Cue.
It is an interesting and memorable place to spend some time in and is well-situated for a stopover on a long outback drive, being 650km from Perth and approximately half way to Newman and Karijini.
If you've got a bit of time to spare while you're in the area, it's well worth taking a half-day detour westwards out to Walga Rock and the ghost town Big Bell.
Things to See and Do in and Around Cue, Western Australia
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Go for a drive or walk around town and have a look at the interesting and beautiful old heritage buildings.
Government Buildings -- police station, court house and post office
Gentleman's Club (now the shire office)
Masonic Lodge building
Bank of New South Wales building
Rotunda (site of the town's first well)
Pensioner huts and old gaol (part of the caravan park)
Check out the historical photograph collection in the shire office building (formerly the town Gentleman's Club) to gain some more context to the history of Cue.
Drive up to the top of the Radio Tower Hill (Cue Lookout) for views over the town, the nearby mines, and horizon-to-horizon dry red earth.
A good idea is to pick up the brochure and follow the Cue Heritage Trail, which will take around to the main attractions in the surrounding area and provide interesting background info.
Try fossicking for gold -- you never know, you could get lucky!
In late winter and spring the beautiful desert wildflowers bloom to life, carpeting the red dusty ground in fields of colour. This is the best time of year to visit Cue and explore the surrounding country.
Camp out for the night or just enjoy the beautiful scenery and wildlife at Lake Nallan, a nature reserve about 24km north of Cue
Or camp/picnic at Milly Soak, 16km north of Cue. Also has a small pioneer cemetery and well
Head out west along Austin Downs Road to Walga Rock to see the cave paintings, climb the rock and perhaps camp there for the night.
While in the area, check out what remains of Big Bell, a ghost town.
Best Australian Town
Yamba, in northern NSW, has been selected amongst 300 shortlisted towns: 'Best Australian Town', by Australian Travellers Magazine
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Aussie Outback Murchison Oasis Roadhouse Western Australia and Museum
Australian Outback Murchison Oasis Roadhouse in Murchison, a great old fashioned Museum out in the Aussie bush, with old phones and radios, plus an old Bedford Truck. About half way between Kalbarri and Meekatharra. Good place for tourist stop when tripping about north of Perth. Plus close to : The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA), a low-frequency array operating in the frequency range 80-300 MHz; and the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP).
It is also one of two core sites for the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), and both current instruments are technology and science pathfinders for the SKA.
Shire of Narembeen
A historical area, Narembeen has a number of attractions such as the crash site of the Vultee Vengeance and the historic mining town of Holleton.
There are many natural attractions within the district along with tourist attractions such as craft and nursery outlets. Wild flowers are also another attraction in this part of Western Australia.
In close proximity to Wave Rock and with the Great Eastern Highway only 70km away, Narembeen is a great overnight stop whilst travelling around this great state.
Narembeen has all necessary medical facilities including, doctor, physio, pharmacy and dentist and is a warm and friendly community to live or visit.
Narembeen alsohas full educational facilities for children from pre primary to Year 10 at the Narembeen and District School.
For more information on Narembeen please email the Shire or call 08 9064 7308 during office hours.
We hope you enjoy your Narembeen experience.
As seen on Best Country Towns - Episode 2. Channel 44 West TV. Western Australia.
Proudly produced in association with
Gold Prospecting Western Australia - Cue
On the last day of our second trip to Cue we decided to detect near the camp just to see if we'd have any luck...and we did! For anyone wondering, we were here in July/August which is the best time to go to WA when it's not as hot.
Ninghan Station & Beyond.
Epic Drives Western Australia. Episode 10.
Heading 400km North from Perth to Ninghan Station for an epic 3 day adventure. Come along for the 1000km journey to the remote Goldfields of Paynes Find. This place is remote, ancient and full of history.
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Peak Hill NSW Open cut mine experience
Quick vid of the old open cut mine at Peak Hill in NSW Australia.
Pilbara region, Western Australia
The Pilbara region covers more than 505,000 square kilometres of Western Australia. It is surrounded by the Indian Ocean to the Northwest, the Kimberley to the North, the Northern Territory to the East and the Goldfields, Mid West and Gascoyne regions to the South.
The Pilbara is a very ancient land, with iron mining being the main industry. Like all other areas of Northern Western Australia, the Pilbara is very sparsely populated. It is a very hot area, the Marble Bar area is often quoted as the hottest place in Australia.
The Pilbara is an arid land of Old, a landscape of ancient rocks and stones, some estimated to be over 3 billion years old. The area is not fully barren (like the inner deserts), but is still very inhospitable, dry, and most of all extremely hot. Just like the rest of Western Australia, the Pilbara is very sparsely populated, furthermore here a good majority of the small population works for/is related to the mining industry. The scenery, however, has not been disfigured, and some beautiful natural attractions are found throughout the vast expanses of the Pilbara.
The current industry that is removing vast amounts of iron ore from the region has a very extensive affect on the landscape and the experiences of the region. Port Hedland is the main export port, and huge tonnages of iron ore are shifted out. The railways, the mine sites, and the communities are geared to the iron ore export, and very little is open for the tourist to access.
There are two main sealed roads, the Great Northern Highway and the North West Coastal Highway. The Great Northern Highway passes through old gold mining towns like Cue and Meekatharra. North West Coastal Highway passes through Geraldton and Carnarvon.
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