Winton Travel Guide
Winton accommodation, Winton activities and attractions, Winton maps, transportation to and around Winton - the ALL NEW Jasons Winton Destination Travel Guide is your complete visitor guide for Winton.
Winton is the true home of
Waltzing Matilda. Combo Waterhole, the setting for the famous Australian ballad, was part of nearby Dagworth Station when Banjo Patterson penned the verse in 1895, and it had its first public airing in Winton on April 6 that year. An annual worldwide bush verse competition, the Bronze Swagman Award run by the Winton Tourist Promotion Association, is considered to be one of Australia’s most prestigious literary awards.
A major sheep area, Winton is also a large trucking centre for the giant road trains of the Matilda Highway, bringing cattle from the Channel Country to the railhead. It was first settled in 1875, and during the shearers’ strike of 1891, 500 men camped on the common south of town, the site of which is now marked by a cairn. In 1921, the first Qantas board meeting was held in the Winton Club, before the airline moved its operational base to
Longreach. The club still stands on the corner of Oondooroo and Vindex Streets, and is open to visitors. There are only a few remaining open-air picture theatres left in
Australia – one is the Royal Theatre on Cobb Lane.
Geographic Location
174km north of Longreach
Population
1150
Climate
Arid
Summer: 23 – 37°C
Winter: 9 – 25°C
Rainfall: 410mm/year (wettest months January - February)