THE $23 million Waltzing Matilda Centre in Winton celebrates the enduring tune of Banjo Paterson, which in 1974 finished second to ``Advance Australia Fair’’ in a poll to choose Australia’s new national anthem.
Waltzing Matilda is part of the national fabric.
Paterson wrote the words for the song on a trip to Central Queensland in 1895 after hearing stories about the death of a swagman following a fight with a squatter and the mounted troopers supporting him.
Written on a remote property in central Queensland in the 19th century, the tune remains a symbol of Australia’s defiance against oppression in the 21st.
And Winton remains a symbol of the working man’s success, a town that celebrates the great returns that came from hard-working men and women prepared to invest in the wide brown land around them.
Andrew Morgan from Queensland Tourism & Hospitality Brokers is marketing the Matilda Motel, a freehold property that is returning 23 per cent on the asking price of $1,250,000.
Situated just across the road from the Waltzing Matilda Centre, it has a ready-made tourist trade at the front door.
Mr Morgan said the 21-unit motel, positioned right in the centre of town, was “nicely presented with a relaxed atmosphere and very easy to operate.”
“There’s no food preparation at all, making it a low cost operation with a high profit margin,” he said.
The property is returning a net profit of $286,284 and has long-term owners wanting to retire.
“It has a three-bedroom residence onsite, with an additional two-bedroom unit that is used as a residence but which can also be rented out by the next owner,” Mr Morgan said, adding that there were strong future bookings for 2021 and beyond.
Winton is one of Australia’s iconic holiday destinations as the home of Waltzing Matilda and the Dinosaur Capital of Australia
At the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum, 24km south-east of Winton, visitors can see the world’s largest collection of Australian dinosaur fossils.
Visitors can see and hear about the exciting finds in the area of remains of the huge creatures that lived 100 million years ago, including gigantic sauropods and “Banjo”, Australia’s greatest carnivorous dinosaur.
The museum’s Dinosaur Canyon consists of five outdoor galleries featuring life-sized bronze dinosaurs.
Winton is also home to the world’s only recorded evidence of a dinosaur stampede which is showcased at the Dinosaur Stampede at Lark Quarry Conservation Park.
The Waltzing Matilda Centre is a museum steeped in Australiana. The building explains the Waltzing Matilda legend, the origins of Qantas that began as a bush airline servicing local properties, Aboriginal cultural history, opal mining, the great Shearers’ Strike of the 1890s and the dinosaur trail.
The Combo waterhole, about 130 km north-west of Winton, is believed to have been the inspiration for Banjo Paterson’s stirring song.
Other attractions around Winton include the Diamantina Heritage Truck and Machinery Museum, which features historic trucks, vehicles and machinery as well as photographic and transport memorabilia.
The Bladensburg National Park features unique birdlife, plants and animals. Impressive flat-topped plateaus and residual sandstone ranges provide a scenic backdrop to vast grassland plains and river flats.
And at the Royal Theatre Winton, an iconic open-air cinema built in 1918 and just one of two open-air theatres still operating in Australia, a bygone era is recalled with regular movie screenings for a unique experience under the night sky – or what Banjo Paterson would have called "the wondrous glory of the everlasting stars".
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