Today you’ll visit the site of a historic shanty in a town…..that wasn’t. Yes that’s right. The gazetted town of Welford was a casualty of the incomplete Great Northern Railway project. The original surveyors pegs are still there from 100 years ago. From Yaraka follow the Yaraka-Retreat road south west for 45km and turn right onto Wandsworth Road. Then drive 5km along a gravel bush track to the ruins of Magees Shanty. Legend has it that Banjo Patterson wrote his iconic poem ‘A Bush Christening’ about an event that happened at this very site. To show their support, a handful of locals have also ‘had their heads wet’ here. A few hundred metres east of the Shanty is the lonely gravesite of Richard Magoffin. Richard was a gold prospector who perished in search of water for his horses during a severe dust storm in the late 1800s. Ironically, he was just a few hundred metres from the Barcoo River when he died. Next stop is Welford National Park. Head back to the Yaraka-Retreat Road and drive a further 45km southwest to The Retreat (turnoff). Drive 3km along the Jundah-Quilpie Road to the Barcoo River Crossing. The perfect place to boil the billy, wet the line or watch the native birdlife at play. From the crossing it’s just a short drive into Welford National Park and your overnight campsite at Little Boomerang Waterhole. Find out more about things to do in Welford National Park here.