Cue – Queen of the Murchison
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Words and Photography by Barry Hayes
Right on Cue
Western Australia’s Great Northern Highway is the route many travellers choose as a faster option to the coastal highway. But fast isn’t always the smart way to get through this fascinating part of OZ. As discovered by two of our regular contributors, slowing down can uncover some lesser-known little towns full of character and plenty of amazing natural features. Cue is one such place and a stop there for a cuppa saw them tearing up their carefully prepared itinerary.
Traveling on Western Australia’s Great Northern Highway you could be forgiven for not even slowing down as you pass through the tiny town of Cue. The town was once a thriving centre supporting the gold mining industry and, while there are still a couple of mines nearby, they are now mainly self sufficient and Cue has the appearance of a town that is slowly dying. But scratch the surface just a little and you will find enough to keep you enthralled for several days.
We were heading north, up towards The Pilbara and had spent the previous night in Mount Magnet. The receptionist at the Mt Magnet Caravan Park where we had stayed handed us a bit of tourist info that included a brochure on Cue and by a lucky chance we actually read it before bunking down for the night. On the strength of what the brochure contained we decided that we should probably spend one or two hours in Cue on our way through and photograph some of the historic old buildings.
Hitting Cue around mid morning after the short run from Mount Magnet we decided we had time to have a quick look around. We became so engrossed in the quaint mix of architecture and the friendly locals that we decided to stay around for lunch, which subsequently extended to an afternoon cuppa and before we knew it we were hooked and looking for somewhere to sleep. We found the sole caravan park and used our carefully prepared but now useless itinerary to light a campfire.
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Cue is one of those places whose charms are not all that apparent until you start to look a little closer. A casual visitor could easily wonder why the town is known as ‘The Queen of the Murchison’. Driving up the main street you will see buildings that are typical of any old country town, a nice pub, a servo, a general store and sadly the usual mix of long closed business that didn’t make it when the mining boom became a bust. But hang around awhile and you will find one hell of an atmosphere, loads of fascinating history and a few stunning natural attractions. Your schedule may preclude a stay in Cue but do yourself a favour and at least call into the local Tourist Centre in Robinson Street for a mud map and a real nostalgia hit. A quick look at the displays and old photographs may see you changing your mind about pushing on.
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