Barcaldine kicked up its heels to celebrate the 125th Anniversary of the Great Shearer's Strike on the last weekend of April 2016.
The character of rural towns throughout drought-affected Queensland has been under the spotlight in recent years, and the little town of Barcaldine in the west of the state has not been immune to the struggles delivered to those living and working off the land.
On the last weekend of April though, they left their burdens on the black or red soil and came together for the annual Tree of Knowledge Festival that this year celebrated the 125th Anniversary of the Great Shearers’ Strike, an historic event that helped forge better pay and working conditions for rural industry workers across Australia.
The Shearers’ Strike in 1891 was one of Australia’s earliest and most important industrial disputes. At the very centre of the conflict was Barcaldine, and what came to be known as the Tree of Knowledge.
About 3000 striking shearers marched under the Eureka flag to put forward their protests against poor working conditions and low wages, effectively creating what would come to be known as the Labor party and shaping Australian politics.
The tree has since become an icon of the Labor Party and Trade unions and is celebrated each and every year at the Tree of Knowledge Festival. What was once a one day float parade has grown to a full weekend of community celebration embracing a diverse range of activities including Street Festival, Rev Fest, Goat Racing and a gala Anniversary Ball.
The first Queensland Labor Day procession occurred on May 1, 1891 in Barcaldine. This cache commemorates the anniversary of that occasion.
The coordinates mark the spot of the first tent pitched at the strike. And yes, it IS in the middle of the road! (The road wasn't there way back then!)
The actual cache is a micro in a tree, some 25 meters away, and should be a quick park and grab.
If you are not wanting to use your caching sense, put these coordinates in: S23 33.126 E145 16.930 but to me that sort of spoils the purpose of this cache.