If asked the question, what 3 places would you recommend to an international tourist to check out when in Rockhampton, what would be your response?
Mount Archer, Botanical Gardens/zoo, Quay Street, I assume would be some of the more popular responses. If you asked an international tourist, doing the Frazer Island to Whitsundays road trip leg what were they going to see while in Rockhampton, what do you think they would say? I’m only guessing, but I think they would be seeking more cultural experiences and places like the Gracemere Saleyards, Great Western Hotel, Rockhampton Heritage Village and Dreamtime Cultural Centre might make their list. Be interesting to know how different the locals and the international tourists must see lists are. (Interesting also these latter 3 cultural places are the only ones on the Tourism Australia web site,16-day Gold Coast to Cairns road trip page, under the 1770 to Rockhampton sub-title, along with Quay Street.)
I asked this as I was at the Dreamtime Cultural Centre last Wednesday for a meeting and as I was leaving a Britz camper van pulled into the car park and a family got out to do a tour of the complex. I thought to myself, good to see tourists still find their way (despite the road works outside) and do a tour of the Dreamtime Cultural Centre. Of course they do, how else does the Centre remain open! However, I wonder how many locals don’t think to visit the centre and hence may not think to readily recommend it to others.
The Centre is 32 years old and to be honest looks a little tired compared to when it opened in 1988. However, it is still a unique attraction; one of the few, if not only, Cultural Centre that house’s both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander displays.
Being a local I kind of have taken it for granted, having done the tour a couple of times way back, tried throwing a boomerang and playing a didgeridoo, plus been to a couple of meetings there in their cave like function rooms. You forget, (or is it not reminded) international tourists visiting an indigenous cultural centre is generally a must do, so why not the one in Rockhampton, especially as it is so reasonably priced and big.
Dreamtime also hosts small conferences, school tours, school classes and retreats as well as events including a mining machinery display once. It is an asset of Rockhampton and Central Queensland, but possibly suffers from the ‘been there done that’ syndrome and is in need of an injection of money, new reasons to attend the Centre and the roadwork’s outside it to be completed for a better return to be gained from it.
Ideas are certainly being discussed to reinvigorate the centre. Bush tucker, aboriginal dancing performances, start-up social enterprises hub, wellness retreat, art displays, native plant expo, experience a day (and night) as a traditional aborigine, have all been discussed and pre-feasibility reports on some of these ideas are being prepared.
In the meantime, could we consider the Dreamtime Cultural Centre next time someone asks what there is to see in Rockhampton, where to hold a small conference, outdoor expo or retreat, or to buy a unique gift? Rockhampton is fortunate that there were people who had the foresight to push for this special attraction to be built and those that now keep it running. In this Year of Indigenous Tourism lets acquaint or re-acquaint ourselves with the Dreamtime Cultural Centre, the entrance is still easy to drive into, just a few orange safety markers to be aware of. And once inside the stories told are as fascinating as the land (Central Queensland) itself.