Morven
Head east towards Roma 270klm away. Morven is one of the nearest rural towns with a population of over 200. The only hotel in town was burned down in 2016.
At the time of early settlers, water was at the top of the list. There is a waterhole here, named after the first arrivals, TJ Saddlier and his wife. 9hence Saddliers Waterhole.
Mitchell is the next town, which has over a 1000 people. The Maranoa River flows around the town. The land has been inhabited for 20,000yrs by the Mandananji & Gunggari people.
It would have been a harsh environment for early European explorers in the 1850’s. We can only be in awe of our indigenous people for co-existing with land and all it provides for thousands of year. Floods and droughts are part of the narrative out here.
Mineral springs are just one of the surprises out here. This area floats on the Great Artesian Basin, which covers about 22% of the Australian landmass.
Roma:
The park opposite the Big Rig Caravan Park
Population 7000, 300mts above sea level. With temperatures during the winter in the low 20 deg to mid 30 deg in the summer months. It has a humid subtropical climate.
Early explorers soon became hostile with indigenous tribes, once again re-enforcing colonial attitudes of superiority.
Agriculture is a major industry in the region, oil & gas are also present in the region.
Roma is famous for its Bottle Trees
Darren Lockyer is from Roma, one of the great Rugby League players for Brisbane Broncos and Australia.
Roma’s largest bottle tree has a girth of 9.62 mts. Even though there appearance is similar to the Boab Tree, they are not related. There is evidence they can live for thousands of years.
We stayed one night in the caravan Big Rig Tourist Park. Comfortable, clean but tight for parking and quite exposed to the road on one side. Pleasant parklands on the opposite side of the road. The next night we stayed at the Roma Bowls Club for $10 a night. A short walk into the main street and pubs etc. Also handy for a bite to eat and drink at the bowls club. Mitchell
The well known Roma Bottle Tree 
Some smaller ones with a Queensland house
Heading south now towards Surat, Glenmorgan,The Gums, Moonie and onto Goondiwindi
Some sights on the road via Surat, Free Range cattle in the outback and Arthur Daley Motors in the outback. The road, whilst tarmac was a little rough for about 70klm.
Surat with a population of 400, is situated on the Balonne River /Maranoa River, is a farming community, with some serious conflicts with local Indigenous tribes in the 1840’s after the squatted on this local land.
Large oil reserves have been located in the Surat Basin.
Goondiwindi
Stop for the night at the Goondiwindi Racecourse, lovely setting, but need to drive to go into town.
Goondiwindi is situated on the Macintyre River, which separates NSW & QLD border. With a population of 6500, with hot humid summers and mild dry winters, it is surrounded by farmland.
A famous resident of Goondiwindi is Gunsynd, a Thoroughbred race horse which won the Melbourne Cup in 1972 and the Cox Plate. It has a number heritage listed buildings which are impressive.
Prone to flooding in the past, much work has been completed to mitigate the risk of the town into the future.
