JULIA Creek’s Duncan McIntyre Museum is about to get an important new display about the history of the man the museum is named for.
Debbie Godier from the local historical society said the town was preparing for its Queensland Week paddock to plate lunch when a relative of Mr McIntyre, who died in the region in 1866, pointed out the same day was the 150th anniversary of his death.
“It was too late to anything special about it so we decided to combine the events,” Ms Godier said.
Visitors to the lunch had the opportunity to read two large panels about the life of McIntyre, a Scottish-born explorer who is now buried at Dalgonally station.
“The panels will now be placed permanently at the museum,” Ms Godier said.
McIntyre, and his cousin Donald McIntyre had come up to the region from Victoria in 1864 to look at establishing pastoral land, as well as looking for traces of the Burke and Wills expedition.
He found no traces of Burke and Wills – who died further south – but he did potentially find traces of an earlier missing expedition, that of Ludwig Leichhardt which disappeared west of Roma in 1848.
In the Flinders River region McIntyre made an intriguing discovery; two trees marked with the letter L as well as seeing two stray horses in the area.
McIntyre returned to Melbourne where he reported his findings and he was commissioned by a ladies’ committee to lead another expedition to look for more traces of Leichhardt.
On May 2, 1866 McIntyre wrote a letter from the Gregory River region.
“I started a search for further traces of Leichhardt and called at the Port (of Burketown) to get some rations.” McIntyre found no positive traces but “we have ascertained beyond doubt that whites are now, or have been, among the blacks within the last 10 years.”
McIntyre reported children among the native population who were “almost white, with light blue eyes and red hair.”
Burketown was suffering from a serious bout of tropical fever at the time. Though he camped well away from the place he was not immune, and grew more ill by the day. By the time he reached Dalgonally he was dying and he died at “the Grave Hole” on the property on June 4, 1866. One of his men, named Slowman, conducted the burial service. Slowman called McIntyre a great bushman adept at finding water.
Derek Barry
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
