We wondered why, and how, anyone would want to set up a tourist attraction based solely on a song, but the Waltzing Matilda Centre in Winton, Qld, touts itself as 'the only centre in the world dedicated to a song', so yesterday we lost ourselves for a bit over 3 hours amongst many groups of tourist as we stepped back to the time of Banjo Patterson 110 years ago. Did you know, that according to a survey done in the 1960's, 9 out of 10 Australians knew the words to Waltzing Matilda? We wonder what those figures are these days? The song itself has been recorded no less than 500 times by well known and not so well known artists and even 'bathroom Pavoroti's' have been known to record it for personal use.
The Centre has videos and a hologram telling the story of how the song was composed, written and performed. Heaps of information about Banjo Patterson adorn the walls, and there is a very creditable billabong setting complete with all the characters and of course a rousing rendition of Waltzing Matilda.
The Centre also housed the Qantilda Museum, for it was in Winton that Qantas was really born, not Longreach. The video shown here was brilliant simply because of the original footage and the interviews with some of the instigators of the concept of flying around the world. The film looked to be made in the 1960's so was in black and white, which only added to the authenticity of the times. Where would international travel be these days without these far-sighted individuals? In all, an entertaining afternoon.
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