2019 is the ‘Year of Outback Tourism’, as proclaimed by the Queensland Government last year. Last week I saw a full-page Queensland Government advertisement in a rural publication of Outback Events with a simple road map linking all the events, I imagine to encourage people to do a road trip and attend as many as possible. Not one road was connected to Rockhampton. In fact, Rockhampton wasn’t even included on the map. All roads started from, or ended in Brisbane, Townsville or Cairns. To get to Longreach the map indicated starting in Townsville going via Winton. No doubt a picturesque route. The Beef Capital of Australia not linked, let alone identified, to any outback event!
To help outback communities long affected by drought the State Government is rightfully trying to boost visitation and spending in these communities. They are even offering grants up to $100,000 to open up new tourism opportunities in Queensland’s outback.
I’ve long believed Rockhampton should market itself as a gateway to the outback. Proposing a very fast train service right through to Uluru, with stops at Emerald, Longreach to attract the Asian middle-class tourist market to see something they can’t see anywhere else in the world – Reef to Rock.
However, while we wait for such infrastructure could we do more with what we have? The rail line to Longreach offers a bi-weekly service, Spirit of the Outback, leaving Rockhampton 4.40am Wednesday’s and 1.03am Sunday’s. Could a special train service be offered in the Year of Outback Tourism (with a more favourable Rockhampton departure time)? A train that doesn’t just take tourists to the Outback but entertains them along the way, with on train live musical entertainment and stops overnight for concerts in towns like Emerald, Alpha and Longreach. With the right government support and money for marketing one should be able to easily fill the carriages and thus make a huge difference in the towns where it stops. Make it a steam train service and you could easily sell sections of the journey to get even more people involved.
I suggested this idea last year as a what next, after the success of the Beef Capital Cares Drought Appeal Concert – Stomp the Crack in raising $15000 for the QCWA Drought Appeal, not knowing that state government grants were to be made available to open up new tourism opportunities in the Outback this year. Could this idea now become a reality? Put Rockhampton on the Queensland 2019 tourism map so to speak! Still start the special Spirit of the Outback service from Brisbane and gather people along the way, staying overnight in Rockhampton, Emerald and Alpha for the penultimate concert and 2 night stay in Longreach. Does someone else think this music train could be a winner, or have other ideas that tie in with Outback events, or are we happy that Rockhampton is not on the map as part of people’s 2019 Outback adventures?