We have spent three nights in Emerald.  We would have probably only spent two, but with the pending rain, we decided to stay the extra night and see if the forcast was right!   They have been correct this time and the rain that has fallen throughout Western Queensland over the last few days has been deemed, drought breaking rains.  The system has moved south today and is also expected to bring much needed rains to northern NSW.  We think Emerald has had a lovely 25 mls.  Quite a few puddles around in the park.

When we visit these towns, we try to find out what the industry is and why people live here.  It was a bit hard to find out much about Emerald and we had met people who had turned their noses up about the town.  We had decided we were going to have a couple of days here anyway.  You need to find things out for yourself!  It's good to get tourist tips, but we don't take too much notice of the 'Pass on By' comments.  It seemed a little difficult to book into the main park in the town, but I had managed to book into the other one.   We had this feeling that it may not be as nice as most we have stayed at!  When we found it, we pulled up in the pull off area on the other side of the road.  It looked "A little corker" as Peter would say!   What's more we couldn't believe the name of it - 'Nogoa'!  We still haven't been able to find out how it is actually pronounced, but we instantly pronounced it 'No Goer'!  "What a name for a park" we said to each other!  So we went for a walk through the park and the decision was...."It was definitely a No Goer"!  Back to the car and we rang the Emerald Cabin and Caravan Park.  Seeing we had stayed the extra nights in Anakie, people had moved on after the 'Gemfest', so we were able to get a site.  It is a nice park, right beside the golf course.  In fact there a huge nets all down the side of where you drive in, keeping golf balls where they should be!  It would be very easy to play a few holes here, Kevin & Val.  Well easy to get to the golf course!  Not sure about how easy the course would be though!After spending the day in Emerald we realised the other park was named after the Nogoa River that runs through the centre of the town.   The river has been dammed, 16 kms from town, with the construction the Fairbairn Dam and Lake Maraboon.  The Nogoa has flooded on a number of occasions, the last being in January 2011 when the flow through the shopping centre was over a metre deep.  Emerald is the hub of the 'Central Highlands of Queensland' and the gateway to the 'Sapphire Gemfields'.  The town was not named after the gem, but for the lush green pastures that once surrounded the town.  The town was established in 1879 as a base for the building of the western railway,  The town was actaully named after a nearby pastoral property that was taken up in 1861.  On arrival the family were so impressed with the green pastures they decided to name their selection 'Emerald Down's'.Primary industries include coal, sapphire and gem mining, cotton, wheat, maize, sorghum, oats, barley, sunflower, soybean, beef, citrus, grapes, avocados, mangos, native flowers, peanuts and many small crops.Emerald would have continued as a small town had it not been for a decision in 1948 to grow sorghum in the area.   This highlighted the suitability of the soil for crop growing and the agricultural base of the area was strengthened when the huge 'Fairbairn Dam' was constructed in 1972.  It has a storage of 1,301,000 megalitres and is used for irrigation and the town's water supply.  This dam facilitated the regions economic focus from cattle to cropping.  The region also has the largest citrus orchard in the southern hemisphere.  The property has 250,000 trees comprising mandarin, lemons and lime.Once famous as a major sunflower producer, Emerald is now home to the world's largest replica of Van Gogh's 'Sunflower' painting on an easel.  The impressive 25 metre high structure is in Morton Park behind the Information Centre.  13.6 tonnes of steel was used in its construction.  The 'Centenary of Federation Mosaic Pathway' is also in Morton Park and it leads you through 100 years, within a 100 metres, depicting Emerald's colourful history.  There are three mosaics on each of the following: Creation, Aboriginals, Exploration, Early Days, Settlement, Post War and the Future.   They are beautifully done.Then we walked the upgraded CBD street of 'Egerton', where there are a number of 'Artworks'.  The 'Hands on the Wall' on the wall of the Central Highlands Regional Council Offices were impressive.  The handprints are of '96 Emerald Residents' who were recognised for their contribution to the community in 2008, following the flooding of the town.  The flood on December 30th 2010, reached record river heights of 16.05 metres by January 2nd 2011.  That was .7 of a metre higher than the 2008 flood.  Another 'Artwork' attraction was 250 million-year-old fossilised wood, which was outside the Emerald Town Hall.  It was dug up in 1979 when a new railway bridge was being built across the Mackenzie River.  We also went for a drive out to the 'Fairbairn Dam and Lake Maraboon'.  There is sometimes confusion as to what is named what, with these two.  The earth wall and spillway is 'Fairbairn Dam' and the water is actually 'Lake Maraboon'.  Maraboon is an aboriginal word meaning 'where the black ducks fly'.  'Lake Maraboon' covers 15,000 hectares and is a recreational area for the community.  It is recorded as being three times the size of Sydney Harbour and there are a number of different fish to be caught.  The 'Red Claw Crayfish' is abundant in the waters and is caught in a trap called an 'Opera House Trap'.  It is said "To bait the traps with dog biscuits, fish, fruit or partially cooked vegetables".  There was tiered seating on the banks of the swimming area and it looked like they may hold skiing events on the lake.  Interesting few days here and I have enjoyed a day of rest today, catching up on tagging photos.  I seem to either be able to keep up with the blogs or the photos, but having trouble being up to date with both!  Heading north to Charters Towers tomorrow, for a few days.  12 photos