Family Hotel
The town's real highlight is the Family Hotel, built in 1883, which is owned by Dan and Kathy Toole. A few decades ago artists, fascinated by the desert, came to the town to paint. They seem to have felt that any flat surface was worthy of their daubings because there are still original works by Clifton Pugh, Russell Drysdale and Rick Amor on the walls of the pub.
Tibooburra Keeping Place
Located in Briscoe Street, the Keeping Place features a display of fauna, local photographs, and indigenous artefacts of wood and stone from the Wadigali, Wongkumara and Malyangapa tribes. There are also arts and crafts for sale. .
Tibooburra Pioneer Park
At the end of the main street is the Tibooburra Pioneer Park which was established in 1999. The main attraction in the park is a full-size whaleboat (by Anthony Hamilton) perched on the top of some poles. This is a replica of the whaleboat Charles Sturt hauled across inland Australia on a wagon with the intention of using it to row around the continent's 'inland sea'. It was abandoned at Depot Glen near the current site.
The Church of the Corner
This church was erected in 1963 by the Australian Inland Mission now succeeded by the Uniting Church Frontier services. It is open for use by visiting clergy by arrangement. It is a church for all the people of the area.
Tibooburra Outback School of the Air
This is a unique school of the air in the sense that the kids on the outlying properties actually interact with a real class of children in the Tibooburra Outback School of the Air. It is the only dual mode school in Australia. It can be toured at a cost of $2 per person and $4 per family. The best time to inspect is in the morning when the classes are in the room where radio contact is made with the outlying students. The air lesson times are Monday-Wednesday 9.00am - 12.30pm, Thursday 9.00am - 2.00pm, Friday has school assembly on the air from 9.00am - 10.00 am. On Tuesdays some of the students from outlying areas come in because it is the Royal Flying Doctor day. They operate on VHF radio. Over the road is the Bush Children's Hostel where children can stay while they attend the school for special functions.
Golden Gully
Golden Gully, adjacent Dead Horse Gully camping ground, is a reconstruction of mining sites and methods with explanatory plaques. The turnoff is 1 km north of Tibooburra. 25 km east of town along the Wanaaring Rd, at the south-eastern section of the park, is Mt Wood homestead and an outdoor display of items from the old Mt Wood station, including a whim ( a device for drawing water from deep wells in the days before bores and windmills), a wool scourer and other old machinery. The old courthouse in Tibooburra itself is being converted into a museum to house indoor artifacts from the homestead (1884).
The rangers at the National Parks and Wildlife Service office in Briscoe St can advise on places to visit and suitable routes. Doubling as a local information centre it has pamphlets relating to both walking and driving trails through the park. There are two self-guided drives which take a number of hours and provide a good overview of the territory - Gorge Loop (100 km) and the Jump-Up Loop Road (110 km), the latter taking in the ruins of Mt King homestead and woolshed. There are clearly demarcated walking trails with interpretive signs to the summit of Mt Wood where the view is excellent, and from Fort Grey where Sturt's party built a stockade to protect their supplies and prevent their sheep from wandering. At the rest area 1 km south of Olive Downs Homestead (1880s) there are two Jump-Up walks.
Great Dingo Fence
Sturt National Park is bounded by a portion of the world's longest fence, the Great Dingo Fence, which spans 5614 km from the Gulf of Carpentaria to the Indian Ocean. Originally constructed by the Queensland government to halt a rabbit invasion encroaching from the south it is still maintained in order to keep wild dogs from sheep grazing areas.
The park also stretches across to Cameron Corner (named after NSW Lands Department surveyor John Brewer Cameron) where NSW, SA and Qld all meet. 140 km north-west of Tibooburra, it was once a well-known stopover point for those headed to Innamincka along the Strzelecki Track. It will take a couple of hours to reach the corner. Make sure you always carry two spare tyres and plenty of water.
The best time to visit the park is from April to September. There are four camping areas - Dead Horse Gully, Mt Wood, Olive Downs and Fort Grey. All have toilets, barbecue facilities and water but no showers.
Remember, the local roads are gravel and can be hazardous or impassable after wet weather. Phone the Roads and Traffic Authority on (08) 8087 0660 for an up-to-date report on their condition. Also, be sure you have a reliable and detailed map.
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