Barcaldine Area

In 1891, striking shearers gathered under a ghost gum here, a meeting widely credited with the birth of the Australian Labor Party. The tree died in 2006, but the Tree of Knowledge Memorial now holds its preserved trunk inside a striking timber canopy built over the exact spot. The Australian Workers Heritage Centre nearby tells the fuller story of the strike and the union movement it sparked. Out in genuine outback country, Barcaldine keeps things surprisingly green too, earning its nickname, Garden City of the West.