AGO Holiday Planner 2026

WINTER WANDERINGS BY AUSTRALIA’S GOLDEN OUTBACK

wildflowers spring up and carpet the rugged landscape. Whether you’re cruising along sealed roads in a two wheel drive or are a hardy traveller ready to hit the four-wheel drive tracks, there are three must see natural sites nobody should miss when travelling through this awe inspiring region. e Queen of the Murchison Cue, also known as the Queen of the Murchison is Kalgoorlie’s northern gold rush counterpart. Founded in 1893, it was a hub of the Murchison Goldfields with miners determined to make their fortune on the rich gold reefs surrounding the town. Its population waxed and waned, depending on the changing fortunes of the gold industry, but at its height, Cue boasted a population of more than 10,000. However, by 1933 the gold had

gone and there were fewer than 500 people living in and around Cue. Money was poured into this town, and many of the heritage buildings built during its heyday can still be seen today. The main thoroughfare, Austin Street is home to the double-storey Gentlemen’s club. This handsome stone building was financed by the London and Western Australian Investment Company and had 18 offices and two shops. In January 1901 the upper floor became home to the Murchison Club, used by Cue’s leading business, mining, pastoral and professional men. It later became known as the Gentlemen’s Club. What was once opulence in the outback is now a living ghost town. It appears time stopped last century, with time worn signage still present on Austin Street’s shopfronts – many either empty or slowly decaying – giving the so-called queen an endearing charm. Despite its melancholy appearance, just over 200 people call the town home today.

When I think of the Gascoyne Murchison region, I picture vast awe-inspiring geological landscapes rising from the horizon. Many areas are untouched by the modern world and are filled with sacred sites and century old wall art depicting the lives and stories of the local indigenous cultures. Walga Rock is home to the largest gallery of Aboriginal rock paintings in Western Australia. Explore the large cave within the rock, which contains a range of paintings including pictures that are said to be of ships that visited the Western Australian coast in the 17th century. There’s something heroic about exploring the Golden Outback in the winter months with crisp mornings, clear blue skies, and vast outback plains bursting into colour as delicate purple mulla mulla and pink everlasting

Mount Augustus The rock of Mount Augustus, or

Burringurrah as it’s known to the local Wajarri Aboriginal people, is about eight kilometres long and covers an area of 4,795 hectares (double the size of the City of Perth), and is over twice the size of Uluru.

TOP TO BO OM Walga Rock, The Granites.

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AUSTRALIA'S GOLDEN OUTBACK