If you are looking for a snack, feeling a bit peckish or are flat out starving, you can find exactly what you are looking for in Julia Creek. From snacks and fast food to steaks, Bush Dinners and more. There are cafe tucked away in a supermarket, two hotels and a bakery / cafe. Take your pick, you won’t go hungry.

Come along and enjoy the award winning Bush Dinner nights at the Julia Creek Caravan Park (all welcome including free campers) each Monday night from June to September. Enjoy some local produce cooked for you by a local non-profit community group, hear a local yarn told by a true blue outback Aussie, enjoy the warmth of our camp fire and maybe even win a prize. BYO!

McKinlay Shire has a variety of birdlife throughout the year in various locations. The best times to visit are directly after the wet season (March - June). To view a list of species found in our area, visit this link. Alternatively, there are QR Codes and lists available from the Visitor Information Centre. North West Queensland also has a great variety of fishing throughout our vast river systems, lakes and creeks. Some common species include barramundi, sleepy cod, catfish and redclaw yabbies. Throw in a line and spend some time exploring the region. Be sure to keep an eye out for other native wildlife in the area, particularly kangaroos, brolgas, emus, and of course cattle and sheep which are one of the main industries in our area. 

If you’ve never taken part in a cattle muster, you now have the opportunity to come and take part in a virtual reality cattle muster at the Julia Creek Visitor Information Centre. For a small fee, you can don a Samsung VR headset, headphones and immerse yourself into being on the back of a dirt bike, inside a chopper, sitting on the rails of a cattle yard, watching cattle being loaded and more, all in air conditioned comfort!

For something different, visit the remains of a concrete building which housed a generating plant supplying power to a RAAF High Frequency / Direction Finding Station, called the ‘Round House’, installed in 1942 on the ridge nearby. These stations proved great importance as navigational aids during WWII and assisted in the detection of Japanese aircraft across Northern Australia. There were only ever two Round Houses constructed of concrete, the other being at Tolga on the Atherton Tablelands.

Standing proud at the Julia Creek RSL, Samson, the major sculpture was created by artist, Sue Tilley, from a range of vintage metal objects collected locally. Samson, together with the surrounding Light Horse Brigade silhouettes, form a prominent tribute to the spirit of the ANZACs. This is located on the corner of Mathews and Goldring Streets (heavy vehicle bypass).

There are a few versions of our historical town that you can do, whether you are after a short walk around the main area of town or the half day version. You can obtain a map from the visitors centre and walk the 38 signposted sites, reading their interesting and colourful history along the way and drive to the sites on the outskirts of town.

Just looking around town, one feature you definitely won’t miss is the 30m wine glass shaped water tower, which can be seen from up to 20km away. At night, the blue lights give the tower a completely different look and makes for some spectacular photography! Built in 1971, the tower has the capacity to hold 100,000 gallons of water and stands above one of Julia Creek’s bores. Not only does it serve to provide good water pressure in the town, but also allows the water to cool.

If you love history, you’ll enjoy the Duncan McIntyre Museum, home to countless relics from a bygone era. You’ll see a Willy Jeep Truck, steam engine, tractor plus an array of fossils formed in the Eromanga Sea. See items from the District’s wool heritage, history of the hospital, radio and telecommunications and much more. There are a host of fantastic historical images for viewing to give you an insight of what life was like in Julia Creek in the early days. Entry is free.

The Opera House you ask? Yes, this is our Opera House……so named because it was officially opened on the same day as the Sydney Opera House. The Julia Creek Opera House is home to an interesting collection of local and regional photographs of the past life of the people of the region. It’s located in Julia Street, just a short stroll from the Visitor Information Centre.