BEDOURIE OUTBACK VISITOR INFORMATION CENTRE

Welcome to The Centre

Escape the city streets and embark on a true adventure in remote and ruggedly beautiful Bedourie – an oasis in the desert. And the best place to begin your explorations of this friendly and fascinating outpost is at the highly helpful and laid-back Bedourie Outback Visitor Information Centre.

Perched high on a sand dune and surrounded by Eyre Creek, this fair dinkum Aussie Outback town is the diamond of the Diamantina Shire in far western Queensland. While perhaps not as well-known as its southern shire counterpart, Birdsville, Bedourie is a hidden treasure definitely worth discovering. Steeped in rich pioneering history, this far-flung country community of just 120 residents offers visitors a warm welcome and a host of excellent facilities and attractions.

Pull up a perch and appreciate the peace and quiet on the tranquil banks of Eyre Creek. Take a stroll past historic buildings which still seem to breathe with an enduring spirit of determination and resilience. Soothe sore muscles in the therapeutic, crystal-clear waters of the Artesian Spa and Aquatic Centre, or call by the historic Royal Hotel for some great tucker and a yarn with the friendly locals.

Want to get some directions, know what the weather’s doing, check road conditions, or gain valuable insights from true locals about the town’s history and ‘must do’ experiences during your visit? The friendly team at the Bedourie Outback Visitor Information Centre is your one-stop shop for all things local, including bookings and access to shower facilities at the Bedourie Tourist Park, and access keys (for a small fee) to the Artesian Spa and Aquatic Centre. They even offer a great little gift shop selling local souvenirs, as well as offering wireless internet access. The friendly visitor centre team are here to help make your outback adventure truly memorable for all the right reasons.

Description of Displays

Your beacon of local knowledge, the Bedourie Outback Visitor Information Centre, is in the heart of this small town, beside the Diamantina Shire Council administrative office. Staff are on hand to assist with your enquiries, with expert local knowledge and loads of tourist information to help you on your way.

Brightly coloured information boards line the interior walls, providing fascinating insights into the region’s unique history and stories. One of these interpretive displays is titled ‘Cattle Country’, and shares the history of the Channel Country’s prosperous beef cattle industry. It tells the tales of the district’s pastoral pioneers, such as John Costello, a fine bushman and excellent horseman who took up land in the area in 1868; and Sir Sidney Kidman (known as ‘The Cattle King’) who established an empire of vast and profitable cattle properties throughout the region around the turn of the twentieth century. These men are prominent historic figures who helped transform the region into the world-class cattle producing district it is today.

Another board shares how beauty can be found in unexpected places. It describes some of the desert flora which can be found in the area, and how it has adapted to the region’s harsh conditions of dry desert weather and periods of flooding rains. It also describes some of the local bush tucker, and makes mention of pituri, a natural narcotic produced from the nicotine plant. Another display describes life in the desert, highlighted the many forms of fauna that flourish in the local natural environment, such as kangaroos, bilbies, dingoes and frogs. Another features the abundant birdlife of the surrounding Channel Country, and their strong connection to traditional Indigenous culture.

The centre exudes a relaxing, peaceful vibe, with the earthy scent of desert and bush-inspired bath products wafting from the onsite gift shop.

Fascinating Facts

Bedourie is the administrative centre for the expansive Diamantina Shire, an area of around 95,000 square kilometres - roughly the same size as Hungary or Portugal.

Meaning ‘dust storm', Bedourie was originally inhabited by the Wangkamahdla people. A prominent black, red and yellow sculpture in Herbert Street depicts these dust storms and whirly winds, which were traditionally believed to be a way the spirits travelled.

In the 1880s, Bedourie was a major watering and rest stop for drovers moving cattle from the Northern Territory and northwest Queensland to the customs collection point in Birdsville, 200 kilometres to the south.

This isolated frontier town was further developed by the pioneering spirit and founding female resident, Mary Ballard. Mary married Andrew Dolan and moved to the area in the mid-1880s, and later purchased the Bedourie Royal Hotel and built the historic Mud Hut which still stands today. By the early 1900s, Mary was the town's publican, postmistress, stone keeper, butcher, and wine merchant - all the while serving passing drovers, stations, cameleers, and cob and co patrons. She is a fine example of the resilience and ingenuity still seen in the town’s local inhabitants to this day.

This tiny town is also the birthplace of the Bedourie Camp Oven – a locally invented camp cookware item designed to withstand the harsh conditions of the Aussie Outback. Developed in the 1920s by a local tin smith, these cleverly adapted cooking implements are constructed from spun steel with a tight-fitting lid. The unique, heavy-duty design quickly gained popularity, as they began being sold be Australian retailers such as R M Williams. You can purchase your very own locally made camp oven at the Bedourie Outback Visitor Information Centre. Phone orders and postage are also available.

An Oasis In The Desert

Bedourie is a historic town, with a rich past and a bright future. It is lovingly known as an oasis in the desert – and with good reason! Surrounded by the tranquil waters of Eyre Creek, and with a few good ‘watering holes’ including the iconic Bedourie Royal Hotel and the Simpson Desert Oasis Roadhouse, it’s a great place to rest and relax during your next outback adventure.

Pay a visit to one of Bedourie’s most loved attractions, the Artesian Spa and Aquatic Centre. Relax those stiff and sore travel muscles in the crystal-clear waters of the 22-person therapeutic spa. Feel your tension melt away in the soothing near 40-degree waters, pumped straight from the artesian bore, which was drilled back in 1905. The spa operates during the cooler months from May to October. After your spa (or on hot summer days) revitalise your senses with a cooling dip in the Aquatic Centre’s 25-metre swimming pool. A key giving access to these facilities can be obtained (for a small fee) from the Bedourie Outback Information Centre, giving visitors unlimited access to the spa and pool during opening hours throughout their stay.

The town’s historic buildings are also well worth a visit. The Pise House (or mud hut) sits beside the information centre. It was built in 1896 by one of the town’s prominent pioneers, Mary Ballard (also known by several other surnames). It was built of rammed earth, a readily available material in an area where timber was scarce. The Mud Hut later passed into the ownership of ‘Cattle King’ Sidney Kidman, before eventually being bought by Diamantina Shire Council in 2001, who fully restored this fine piece of the past. Other historic buildings include the Royal Hotel (across the road), and the Indigenous Trackers Hut, which now stands behind the Mud Hut.

Accessibility

Bedourie is located in the far southwest corner of Queensland, approximately 1700 kilometres north-west of the capital city of Brisbane, about 500 kilometres south of the outback city of Mount Isa, and 186 kilometres north of Birdsville. Rex Airlines offers direct flights from Brisbane and Mount Isa twice per week, with connections to Birdsville, Boulia, Windorah, Quilpie, Charleville and Toowoomba.

Or if you believe that the journey is half the adventure, load up the four-wheel drive and head bush for an unforgettable encounter with the Aussie Outback. Note that there’s many unsealed roads around the region, so please check road conditions ahead of your visit. Please note there is no public transport available in or around the remote town of Bedourie.

The Bedourie Outback Visitor Information Centre is located at 13 Herbert Street, Bedourie. Centre staff and volunteers are a warm and welcoming bunch and have undergone accessibility training to help ensure they deliver an inclusive experience to all visitors. They are more than happy to answer any tourist information questions, offer suggestions, and assist with directions as needed. At the time of publishing, the centre’s opening hours were 8:30 to 4:30 Monday to Friday.

Street parking is available, and the centre itself is wheelchair accessible.

The nearest public and accessible toilets are located next to the Bedourie Community Centre, just down the road at 18 Herbert Street. There’s a public picnic area across Herbert Street, just north of the centre. If you’re after a shower, head to the visitor information centre and pay a small fee to use the facilities at the Bedourie Tourist Park.

Mobile reception within the shire is quite patchy, so carrying alternative forms of communication, such as UHF radios or satellite phones, is highly recommended. WiFi internet is available at the visitor centre.