21/5/2022 – Saturday – 0km

A short walk across the road from the camp to see the red Bristol monoplane on display that was owned & flown locally by Captain Harry Butler, a renowned local pilot from the early 1900s. His story is very interesting, a clever young man. He joined the Royal Flying Corp in World War I & trained pilots in England. A short walk up the street & by the time we get there the Minlaton Museum is open. The lady inside is very friendly & helpful & the museum is full of memories of the old days of Minlaton, including a section on Captain Harry Butler including his life story & memorabilia & broken parts from his other crashed plane, an Avro.  We spent a fair time in the museum, again it is really interesting.

Off up the rest of the main street looking at shop windows (very few) before crossing at the nursing home & walking back down the other side, past the council chambers, in an old movie theatre building. The locals are all voting in the federal election & there are people accosting the voters on the street with the how-to-vote leaflets. Again there are some beautiful old buildings, some past their prime & others lovingly restored. Some people are proud of their gardens, others not so, it is very dry here. There is this wonderful big craft shop with lots of clever, beautiful & unusual items created by talented people from the district. 

Back to camp for a nice lunch then we walk over the road to the town conservation park for a walk around & it has a gaggle of very curious emus & half a dozen kangaroos lazing in the sun. We don’t see any other animals in the compound.

Next is a short walk to the Minlacowie Brewery and we sample some of the craft beers sitting with our backs to the sun & snacking on some more salt & pepper calamari with chips, all very tasty. Then back to the van & a quiet afternoon of reading & playing a game of 5 Crowns before dinner. Another great day.