They may be one of Queensland’s more remote tourist attractions but Simon and Gaye Terry have put Cobbold Gorge on the map with three major category wins at the 2016 Outback Queensland tourism awards in Windorah over the weekend.
They beat a regular path to the stage to collect both the Tourist Attraction and Hosted Accommodation awards for their efforts at Cobbold Gorge, along with Best Outback Queensland Pub for their recently redeveloped Goldfields Hotel in Forsayth.
The couple operates Cobbold Gorge Tours on the family’s Robin Hood cattle station 400km south west of Cairns., providing daily interpretive tours to showcase the spectacular gorge and surrounding 10,000 year old Hampstead sandstone, as well as offering a variety of accommodation options, dining and licenced bar facilities.
It’s the second consecutive year Cobbold Gorge Tours has won the Tourist Attraction category at the Outback Queensland awards, a 1994 vision that has become a reality, according to Simon.
He and Gaye went on to buy Forsayth’s Goldfields Hotel in 2014 and completely refurbish it, turning it into a one-stop shop with a bar and beer garden, dining area, coffee shop, accommodation and tourist information, secure postal agency, convenience store and fuel outlet.
On Saturday, Simon said it was “awesome” to see the difference it had made to the community, bringing back its spirit.
“It’s more than a hotel,” he said. “I’d like to see you all there for a beer.”
It was one of many good news stories for north Queensland operators, who dominated the awards for another year.
The Mount Isa Rotary Rodeo, Outback at Isa, Richmond’s Lakeview caravan park, and Mount Isa’s entertainment and tourism venues were all on the winner’s list, for festivals and events, visitor information and services, caravan and holiday parks, and destination marketing.
Cloncurry shire’s Kristine Adcock was a popular winner of the Young Achievers award, and John Flynn Place received an encouragement award in the Cultural Tourism section.
Links with China were the way of the future, according to Gregory MP Lachlan Millar, speaking at the dinner, who believed flights between the orient and Cairns would be a great way of promoting reef and beef tours.
“The other thing coming our way is the Commonwealth Games – it will deliver us an audience of one billion plus.”
He was one of many celebrating the surging interest in tourism in the west as people looked for an alternate income in drought times.
OQTA president Stuart Mackenzie said governments were now seeing it as a positive that was drawing people in, putting it in an interesting place.
“We are going to see numbers we’ve never seen before,” he said, preparing operators around the bush for fresh demand.
Although prayers for rain were answered in the best possible way in the middle of the tourist season, operators were beaming with good news stories at Windorah.
A myriad of local events led up to the awards, beginning with sheep shenanigans and a street fair and market in Jundah, marking the start of a yearly tourism symposium that showcased a number of topics advising people on how to get the best out of opportunities looking ahead.
To complete an educational and interactive day, the Barcoo shire held a successful PBR bull ride, introducing some of Brisbane’s city slickers to the dirt, drinks, dust and determination that an outback rodeo has to offer.
A conga line of cars then set out to tour the sandhills of Windorah, followed by the OQTA annual general meeting and advice from Tourism and Events Queensland on how best to use their services.
The big event, the 2016 Outback Queensland Tourism Association Awards, attracted 175 attendees and saw old favourites such as Outback Aussie Tours and Kinnon and Co feature alongside new names such as Roma Saleyard tour leaders, who showed 5000 visitors through the biggest cattle saleyards in the southern hemisphere last year.
Blackall icon Stewart Benson received the Outback Mates accolade as an unsung community hero and in Richard Kinnon’s words, leaving a legacy for the community.
Adel’s Grove, the Birdsville Races, the Qantas Founders Museum and its McGinness Restaurant joined the Hall of Fame for three wins each in various categories in previous years, and Qantas Founders Museum board member Tony Edwards was awarded lifetime membership.
Past Vince Evert award winner, Alan Smith acknowledged the importance of local government in the outback tourism space, and continued to exhort operators to “get on the one page” to exploit the potential out there.
“I urge you to draw up a master plan and work together,” he said.