Lara Station

We arrived at Lara Station after exiting the Landsborough Highway 28 km south of Barcaldine and driving the last 13 km over a very well maintained dirt road with just some minor corrugations in places.

All the sites are spaced out around the Lara Wetlands that have been created from a 100 year old bore. Originally the wetland was created by digging open bore drains but they have now been replaced by pipes. The wetlands are 1 km long by 800 metres wide and when we arrived there were about thirty groups spread around the site with our nearest neighbour 60 metres away. Over 120 bird species have been recorded here but because there is so much water laying about we could only count about 20 different species.

Camping fees are $20 per couple per night and with limited phone and internet access there is no Eftpos available. Your fees include flushing toilets, hot showers, fresh artesian drinking water, free wood if you cut it yourself otherwise its $10 a barrow load with each site having a fire pit. There is also a mineral hot pool at a very pleasant 38 degrees. There is also a dump point for toilet cassettes.

Originally Lara Station was part of Barcaldine Downs that was broken up into three separate stations with Lara covering 15,000 acres. 
The station has had two owners with Michael and Jo purchasing the property in 2009.
To supplement their income they both worked in the mines and would return to the station on their weeks off.

Michael had been flying planes since he was seventeen years old and also held a helicopter license and would muster cattle from time to time. Jo with Michael's backing wanted to start a tourist venture and on the 12th May 2014 her first paying customers arrived.

Later that same day Jo received the tragic news that Michael and been killed while mustering cattle in the helicopter.

Since that fateful day many amazing people have come here to support Jo following the accident. Take Bill for instance who arrived for three months just over two years ago and is still helping out. 
Then there is Debbie who lives on the Sunshine Coast but comes for three to four months each year to help out.

A two hour tour is offered and at just $10 is worth every cent and we highly recommend that if you stay here you must do it. The tour includes smoko with freshly made scones jam and cream. The original Lara Station residence can only be seen on this tour.

The imposing house was built between 1917 and 1918 for Eric Sealy. The house combines the features of both the bungalow and colonial Georgian designs. The house is elevated and stands on stumps made from gidgee wood that is impervious to white ants.

The two wings come together and join at an hexagonal living room which is the focal point of the house. This room has 15 foot high ceilings and is lined with red cedar. As his family grew more rooms were added to the house with covered verandas 3 metres wide on both sides of the house and a 5 metre veranda at the end of the house

Eric Sealy was a very wealthy man but by all accounts not well liked and that included his own family. He had three daughters two of whom married into wealth and moved far away. The middle daughter remained at home and married the head ringer much to Mr Sealy's disgust. He allowed them to marry on the front veranda of the house but then forbade them to ever set foot in the main house again. This also included any grand children. They lived in a small house about 50 metres from the main house and the only time Mrs Sealy could see her daughter and grandchildren was once a week when her husband visited Barcaldine.

Mrs Sealy passed away first followed by Eric. The daughter wanted to move back into the big house but the ringer refused saying that if he wasn't allowed to enter the house for the past thirty years then he never wood. 

The irony of this story is that the ringers children moved away and his wife passed away leaving him sole ownership.

Because the ringer had no interest in the house he let it fall into disrepair. 
Jo has tried to have parts of the house restored but there is still much work to be done and a considerable amount of money is required to finish the restoration.

We thoroughly enjoyed our five days spent here so please if you are passing this way stop in and support Jo.