Innaminka - SA

Entering SA again!!

From Birdsville we did a bit more swapping between states, firstly we went from Qld back into SA again where we visited Australia’s largest Shearing Shed at Cordillo Downs boasting 88 stands in its day. This shearing shed looked nothing like what we expected because it looked nothing like a shearing shed! There is minimal timber in the surrounding countryside therefore they built the shed out of stone rather than timber. The station is no longer a sheep station due to the threat from dingoes and therefore changed to being a cattle station.

Australia's largest shearing shed

Our time in SA was relatively short as we then had to cross back into QLD to head further south. Along the road we spotted some wild donkeys – we had kept being told there were lots of wild donkeys around, so we were glad to finally spot some.

Heading back into Qld again

Wild Donkeys

On our journey south we made a stop at the Burke and Wills dig tree on Cooper Creek. This is the site which marks a sequence of events which lead to Burke and Wills death. The Dig Tree was a base camp, Burke and Wills with King and Gray (who died up north) left here and headed for the Gulf while the base camp was to wait three months for their return. The base camp waited just over 4 months and then decided to leave, but buried supplies at a base of a tree and carved the word DIG and the date into the tree. It turned out Burke, Wills and King arrived back at the base camp just 9 hours later. Although they dug up the supplies they decided to head west towards a property but had to turn back as they were unable to find water. They then ran out of supplies and Burke and Wills both died a couple of months later on the banks of the Cooper but King survived as he then joined an aboriginal tribe and was later rescued by search party.

Jaime and the boys at the Burke and Wills Dig Tree on Cooper Creek

You can no longer read the word DIG on the tree but you can still make out part of the date. There is another tree nearby on which a stockman carved a face resembling both Burke and Wills about 50 years after the event. This face is still very clear and looks amazing.

The face representing Burke and Wills carved into a tree near the Dig Tree

What do you know, we then once again crossed back into SA where we found a campsite just out of Innaminka on the Cooper Creek at Cullyamurra Billabong.

Another border crossing!!

Our campsite at Cullyamurra Billabong on Cooper Creek near Innaminka SA

The next morning we continued our Burke and Wills history by visiting the grave of Burke before heading into Innaminka.

Burke's grave - this is the tree underwhich he died and was then buried

When we arrived in Innaminka it was once again quite amusing at the reaction we got when we arrived in the tiny town, they were surprised to see us as they said the tourist season had finished. We then went and visited the grave of Wills and then the site of where King was found before making our way towards another border crossing (we have pretty much lost track of the time now as we have been swapping states and time zones so often in the last couple of days!).

Aidan and Cody at the grave of Wills

At the site where King was resuced - his name was carved into this tree