All Black
The Barcoo Hotel of Blackall, in outback Queensland, has a Hall of Flame – a gallery of the many pubs the town has lost to fire, including the Barcoo itself, twice!
The Barcoo in fact was once briefly owned by Jackie Howe, the world’s fastest shearer who clipped 321 sheep by hand in 7 hours, 40 minutes – and that’s in the pre-electric era.
A statue of the legend stands embracing a jumbuck outside the Universal Garden Centre. As an extra tidbit, Jenny Muir, Jackie’s grand-daughter, runs the selfsame nursery. [95 Shamrock St, phone 07-4657-4197]