Address & Contact Edit
Bladensburg National Park
Queensland
Phone: N/A
Email: N/A
Web: N/A
Bladensburg National Park is 17 km south-west of
Winton and one of nine parks around
Longreach and part of the Diamantina catchment area. Access is south of
Winton via the
Winton-
Jundah Road. See
http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/parks/bladensburg/about.html for more details, fact sheet and maps. Use of a high clearance four-wheel-drive vehicle is recommended at all times as even a small amount of rain can make roads impassable.
There are several walks and scenic drives available. See the above parks website link for further details.
Bladensburg National Park conserves 84 900 hectares of
Mitchell grass downs and channel country, including unique birdlife, plants and animals. Impressive flat-topped plateaus and residual
sandstone ranges provide a spectacular scenic backdrop to vast grassland plains and river flats, with river red gums and rocky escarpments.
Pastoralists established a large station at Bladensburg—the
homestead has been restored and is used as a
ranger base. Camping is permitted at Bough Shed Hole
camping area. A pit
toilet is the only facility provided. Camping permits are required and fees apply.
Skull Hole is believed to be the site of a massacre of Aboriginal people in the late 1800s. See story below. (Sorry, unable to credit the right person with the story below, as I have no idea who placed it.)
"Following the murder of a teamster near 20 mile, an aboriginal fugitive retreated into the Bladensburg hills. A Sergeant Moran, then in charge of the
Winton police station, tracked the murderers. On being attacked he dealt punitive measures to his assailants, climaxing in a final episode at what became known as
Skull Hole, where the tribe was massacred by black troopers. During the wet season,
skull hole is filled by a waterfall. Also in the area are wattle trees, caves, bats and strangely shaped rocks. Kangaroos are often seen in the gullies below
Skull Hole."