| RICHMOND QUEENSLAND AUSTRALIA |
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| INFORMATION AND HOTEL ACCOMMODATION |
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Richmond is a small outback town of about 800 people which functions as a service centre to the surrounding pastoral community. Richmond is set on the banks of the Flinders River, 500km west of Townsville on the Flinders Highway. The winner of the Tidiest Queensland Town award in 2001, Richmond is noted for its gardens of bougainvilleas, native trees and shrubs. It offers the traveler a range of accommodation from motels to a caravan park. The area in which Richmond is now located was once submerged by a huge inland sea which occupied much of the ancient Australian land mass.
Richmond was surveyed in 1882. It was named after the Richmond Downs Pastoral Run, established by Bundock and Hayes, which was, in turn, named after the Richmond River area of NSW from whence they hailed. Richmond's Fossil Museum (daily 8.30am-4.45pm; $8) displays the petrified remains of hundred-million-year-old fish, long-necked elasmosaurs, and models of a kronosaur excavated in the 1920s by a team from Harvard University and now on show in the USA. Pride of the collection are a complete skeleton of a seal-like pliosaur - the most intact vertebrate fossil ever found in Australia - and the minmi ankylosaur, with its armour-plated hide. The biennial Fossil Festival features the World Moonrock Throwing Competition. It is held in even-numbered years. Richmond Racecourse is a popular venue in the district, holding six race meetings each year. Not many people hang around in Richmond, though it's by no means an unpleasant place - just very small. A roadside park makes a good spot to stretch you legs, with an original Cobb & Co coach and views out across the Flinders River. There's accommodation at the Richmond Caravan Park (tel 07/4741 3772; under $50), which has tent sites, "backpacker" rooms with a communal kitchen, and cabins; or Entriken's Pioneer Motel (tel 07/4741 3188; $50-90). The museum café is the only one in town; otherwise head to the Ampol service station on the Hughenden side of town for a feed. Richmond Queensland Hotels Accommodation - Hotels in Richmond Queensland Australia Book Richmond Queensland hotels online with SimplyRichmond.com. All reservations at Richmond Queensland hotels are confirmed instantly with the best online prices guaranteed by hotels in Richmond Queensland. We are pleased to offer you accommodation in Richmond Queensland ranging from luxurious 5 star Richmond Queensland Hotels to small boutique style hotels and guesthouses. SimplyRichmond.com - offering the best hotel rates in Richmond Queensland, best hotel value, no fees. |