Quorn and Hawker are two towns in the southern Flinders Ranges that are well worth a visit either by travelling north from Port Augusta - or south from Wilpena Pound.
The town of Quorn, 50kms north of Port Augusta, was proclaimed on 16 May 1878. With the building of the Great Northern Railway it became an important railway centre, and the main railway junction for the east-west rail to Perth and north-south to Alice Springs. The last Ghan train passed through Quorn in 1956. This major railway link has now closed but you can travel up to Quorn on the Pichi Richi steam train from Port Augusta. The railway line passes through Pichi Richi Pass which was a major route used by the Aboriginals for thousands of yeas, it's name derived from the Pitjuri bush which was used by the Aboriginals as a medicine.
Whether you visit Quorn via rail or road it is a lovely scenic route up through the lower Flinders Ranges. We travelled to Quorn from Port Augusta in the afternoon and it indeed a beautiful scenic drive. I wish we had gone up in the morning, or taken the Pichi Richi train and allowed more time to explore - but alas we only had the afternoon spare.
If you have an interest in history, your will love Quorn's historic streetscapes which have been the setting for a number of movies incuding Bitter Springs (1940), Walk About (1952) Robbery Under Arms (1957), The Sundowners (1960), Sunday Too Far Away (1974), Gallipoli (1980), The Last Frontier (1985) and the Shirlee (1987).
To keep reading and see more pics, please click on "read more" .....
For some of these historic movies they would cover the streets with sand. When you see the old covered verandahs and shop fronts you can understand why they used Quorn as settings for these movies. You can see the names of the movies displayed on this shop front.
You can obtain a walking tour map from the Visitor Information Centre located in the Railway Station built in 1915.
I loved the frontage of this old hotel with the vine growing up the verandah posts. Unfortunately the Gift and Crafts shop wasn't open as we were here on a Sunday afternoon. Town was very quiet.
66km north of Quorn is Hawker which is the main gateway to the Flinders Ranges. Settlement in the area dates back to the 1850s and the town was established in 1880.
We stopped at Hawker for lunch after we had come down from the Oondadatta Track. They serve the biggest steak sandwich we have ever seen at the General Store/Cafe/Post Office. This is a steak sandwich with the "works" - steak, bacon, eggs, cheese, salad.... enough for two people! We finally had internet connection so we checked on our emails over lunch, had our punctured tyre fixed, and stocked up our stores at the General Store.
The last trains ran through Hawker in 1970, and today the town's existance depends more and more on tourism - as a stepping off point for exploring the magnificent Flinders Ranges they are well positioned.
There is a Heritage Walk around town and other walks and drives further afield. I loved their heritage houses with the iron bull-nose front verandahs.
This old house may be decaying but look at the decoration on the ironwork - beautiful
I hope you have enjoyed this little look at Quorn and Hawker. A great guide book to the Flinders Ranges is "Flinders Ranges An Adventurer's Guide" by Ron & Viv Moon.
If you would like to take a look at the earlier parts of our South Australia trip, please click on the links here.
- Part 8 - Exploring Wilpena Pound, Flinders Ranges
- Part 7 - Brachina Gorge in the Flinders Ranges
- Part 6 - Outback On the Oodnadatta Track
- Part 5 - Woomera, Coober Pedy & the Painted Desert
- Part 4 - Rock Formations and wildflowers in the Gawler Ranges National Park
- Part 3 - Crossing Australia - the Eyre Highway and the Nullarbor, Western & South Australia
- Part 2 - Granite & Woodlands Discovery Trail - Hyden to Norseman, Western Australia
- Part 1 - On the road through South Australia
Mosaic Monday
Travel Photo Mondays
Our World Tuesday
Wednesday Around the World
What's It Wednesday
Travel Photo Thursday
Oh The Places I've Been
Beautiful buildings...
ReplyDeleteJill,
ReplyDeleteA real atmospheric round-up on this next leg of your trip. I know how painstaking it is to sort through zillions of photos to choose just the right ones to depict the moment. This must have taken you a while to compile. I have no idea of what this part of Aus looks like, so I was really surprised to see an almost film-set like town from Victorian times! Just like you see in those wild west movies! Somewhat ghost town like too, and a bit empty. The photos give a sense of time stood still. It must have been weird there. That sandwich is incredible. I have no idea how one begins eating that! Knife and fork attach? Pick up to mouth would need to see the contents defying gravity!
Where are you off to this year for holiday plans?
Jill, what a neat town. It makes me think of the old wild west and the old movies.. The sandwich looks huge, I would have to cut off a small piece.. Thanks for sharing your trip. Have a happy week!
ReplyDeleteI am so happy I found your blog, very interesting. come visit me when you can, I'll be back. yvonne
ReplyDeleteJill, what a magnificent little town. Every time I saw a town like that, I would wonder what the town would look like if a wealthy developer came in and restored it and people would start moving there. What a fabulous place it would be to live!
ReplyDeleteoh no, a developer would spoil it and it would no longer have it's old-time charm.
DeleteI love the architecture there, it's so authentic and well preserved, thanks for sharing Jill
ReplyDeleteHi Jill,
ReplyDeleteWhat a variety of different types of architecture! Come to think of it, that steak sandwich looks taller than some of those structures!;)) Gorgeous landscape of south Australia; a real feast for the eyes! Thanks so much for the wonderful commentary, too!
Have a great week!
Poppy
Interesting architecture and history. Your sandwich for two looks yummy!
ReplyDeleteFabulous shots of a beautiful part of South Australia. I have fond memories of Hawker and Quorn having stayed there a couple of times while touring the country. I remember one morning climbing out of the camper van to the site and sound of hundreds of Galahs.
ReplyDeleteHow fun to take a virtual tour of a part of the world I've never seen. Love the historic buildings. The countryside is beautiful. And that sandwich! Amazing.
ReplyDeleteWhat charming towns! That's an amazing sandwich!
ReplyDeleteI love those old buildings in Quorn and Hawker. The facades are so beautiful. I always enjoy walking the heritage trails around historical towns. I find it very interesting. Once again - great photos!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this amazing land with us bloggers. Wonderful photos.
ReplyDeleteWow! So many terrific photos of your beautiful country.
ReplyDeleteQuite an interesting journey, and it is always nice when possible to have a sense of the history of the place you are visiting....very nicely done Jill. Since I have just awakened a bit ago, I have not yet had breakfast. Oh Jill, that sandwich, just got my taste bugs all ready. Guess the closest thing will be a BLT for me.
ReplyDeleteinteresting and scenic old area - I think it was probably 2007 when I was there. No doubt the steak sandwich was a winner, a good-deal meal! Enjoyed your photos very much
ReplyDeleteGreat shots all! :)
ReplyDeleteOh good heavens Jill. I am not even over jet lag from Greece and this post has made me want to do this road trip. . .time to start searching air fares! Beautiful job, as always!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful architecture. Some of these images remind me of scenes of New Orleans. Wonderful journey you had!
ReplyDeleteI love the streetscape! I enjoy the charming and diverse architecture. Lovely capture as always. Thanks for taking us on another wonderful road trips.
ReplyDeleteLove old Aussie Pubs. Fancy Gallipoli being filmed there!
ReplyDeleteThe town is so visually diverse - the architecture, landscape, the contrasts. I love the name of the steam train too Pichi Richi.
ReplyDeleteI think I've heard of Gallipoli but none of the other movies ring a bell. Still, a beautiful place to visit. Thanks for the tour.
Quorn reminds me of Old West frontier towns in America. I wonder how it came to be that towns so far apart had such similar building styles. Riding the Pichi Richi train is something that I think I'd like to try for reaching this scenic area.
ReplyDeletethank you all dear dear readers for stopping by. Life has been so much of a rush this past week, I have no hope of stopping by and visiting all your blogs. But I will when I can. Take care all and have a wonderful week.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm gonna love this place. Wish to visit South Australia soon! :)
ReplyDeletecapital commons ortigas & co Philippines