Cue, Western Australia (HD) - Cue, WA Tourism and vacation Travel Videos HD, World Travel Guide http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=World1Tube The small town of Cue in Western Australia's Murchison Region is to me a particularly interesting outback town. Like so many old WA mining towns, Cue has thrived and floundered over the years with times of boom and bust. The town was established in 1893 following the discovery of gold in the area the year before, which sparked a gold rush to the remote Murchison Region desert. In its heyday at the beginning of the twentieth century Cue was home to over 10000 people, a thriving and prosperous town known as "The Queen of the Murchison". These days things couldn't be more different. With a population of less than 300, Cue is very close to being a ghost town. When we visited Cue earlier this year the wide streets were still and silent beneath a big blue desert sky. The whole time we were there we didn't see a single soul walking around town and we noticed a good number of the buildings were abandoned or up for lease. The empty streets of Cue would have felt really quite spooky if it weren't for the constant parade of roadtrains roaring through on their way between Perth and the Pilbara carrying fuel and massive pieces of mining equipment. This for me is what made Cue such a memorable place -- the decay and ghostliness of the semi-abandoned town, and the way it felt as if time had stood still there ever since the 1930′s. However I have a feeling that Cue might be quite a different place in a few years time as the shire seems to be going to some effort to restore the town's buildings to their former glory and attract more visitors to the town and surrounding region. And with rumours of a new big mine opening in the area, the population could soon be set to rise again. Gracious Heritage Architecture in Cue =========================== Walking around the streets of Cue feel like stepping back in time. Not much appears to have changed on the main street over the years. Almost all of the buildings are the original ones that were built in the 1890′s and 1900′s -- some still serving their original purpose, some beautifully restored and others abandoned and left to ruin. While a lot of the old heritage Goldrush-era buildings look crumbling and decrepit, I can still understand why Cue's town slogan is "Queen of the Murchison". Some of the old sandstone buildings sure are grand for a dusty outpost in the middle of nowhere! Visiting and Exploring Around Cue, Western Australia =============================== If you happen to be heading up Great Northern Highway for any reason -- on your way to Karijini and the Pilbara perhaps -- then I highly recommend making a stop in Cue. It is an interesting and memorable place to spend some time in and is well-situated for a stopover on a long outback drive, being 650km from Perth and approximately half way to Newman and Karijini. If you've got a bit of time to spare while you're in the area, it's well worth taking a half-day detour westwards out to Walga Rock and the ghost town Big Bell. Things to See and Do in and Around Cue, Western Australia ================================ Go for a drive or walk around town and have a look at the interesting and beautiful old heritage buildings. Government Buildings -- police station, court house and post office Gentleman's Club (now the shire office) Masonic Lodge building Bank of New South Wales building Rotunda (site of the town's first well) Pensioner huts and old gaol (part of the caravan park) Check out the historical photograph collection in the shire office building (formerly the town Gentleman's Club) to gain some more context to the history of Cue. Drive up to the top of the Radio Tower Hill (Cue Lookout) for views over the town, the nearby mines, and horizon-to-horizon dry red earth. A good idea is to pick up the brochure and follow the Cue Heritage Trail, which will take around to the main attractions in the surrounding area and provide interesting background info. Try fossicking for gold -- you never know, you could get lucky! In late winter and spring the beautiful desert wildflowers bloom to life, carpeting the red dusty ground in fields of colour. This is the best time of year to visit Cue and explore the surrounding country. Camp out for the night or just enjoy the beautiful scenery and wildlife at Lake Nallan, a nature reserve about 24km north of Cue Or camp/picnic at Milly Soak, 16km north of Cue. Also has a small pioneer cemetery and well Head out west along Austin Downs Road to Walga Rock to see the cave paintings, climb the rock and perhaps camp there for the night. While in the area, check out what remains of Big Bell, a ghost town.

• published: 05 Aug 2014
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