Now that thread title has you all wondering. I'm also sure that some locals might not consider my description of said family as local royalty but gee everyone out there sure knows the Evert's.
I started working with Bill Evert's grandson 27 years ago and my friend Ian's mum Maurs is a bloody legend. Ian has kept saying to us when are you going to Winton, and we had it all planned and paid for when my colon decided it was time to leave the premises in 2023. Three years later, over the same early May weekend, we gave it a second, successful, try.
Bill bought the Royal Theatre back in 1937. He also owned the Central Hotel. The Evert family still owns the pharmac_ and were pioneers in the boulder opal industry. If you've seen Evert jewellery stores in Cairns that's them too. It was time to check this history out.
Four nights. Three in Winton and one in Longreach. Stayed at the North Gregory (of course) and in Longeach at Saltbush Retreat due to it's proximity to the the airport and Qantas Founders Museum. Car hire through Avis. Qantas Founders Museum Premium Economy tickets including wing walk.
I have a love hate with Q400s, and prop planes in general. I love the intimacy of them but hate that big propeller spinning right outside my window.
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coming in to Blackall
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leaving Blackall. Quite a few people got off and quite a few got on. The get on people were all going back to Brisbane. The plane doesn't stop at Blackall on the way back.
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Small wagon booked but upgraded to a Mitsubishi Outlander. A nice car but bigger than we needed or wanted. The cruise control was beyond our capabilities, and we've worked out a lot of them over the years.
On the way from Longreach to Winton
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not a roo, or any other wildlife spotted on any of our drives
The North Gregory Hotel is a Winton institution
About – North Gregory Hotel. It wasn't cheap but it was pretty basic. Lovely staff. The bed was comfier than it looked. In 1895, in a different iteration of the pub, Waltzing Matilda was performed in public for the first time.
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The Royal Theatre wasn't too far away. These from the verandah outisde our room
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beer o'clock
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they were setting up Banjo's Beer Garden for the Outback Trail
The Outback. Sadly, numbers attending were way less than hoped for. I found out the next morning that I had zero degrees of separation from the event.
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we thought that this was the entire menu at the hotel
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and nothing really appealed so we wandered down the street to Tattersalls
outback sunset
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The Royal Theatre
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quietly sitting having dinner and we started talking to a lady selling raffle tickets. Said this was our first time in town. Next minute the bloke at the table next to us says "you wouldn't be Pete and Al?" and I looked at him and said "um, yes". Turns out this was the manager of the Royal Theatre and Ian had contacted him and said to look out for us. Scary!
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Love that place 
