Late in 2009 we were returning from a trip through north western Queensland in our motorhome. We had decided to call in at the small town of Binnaway on our way home. You see, my wife spent her entire school life living in the town and her parents now reside in the Binnaway Cemetery.

Coming into town from Coonabarabran, we spotted what appeared to be a new caravan and motorhome campsite. We knew there was a toilet block and a camp spot near the new bridge and we thought we might stay there. But, on spotting this new facility we called in to have a look.

We met one of the local men who appeared to be doing some sort of work there. On speaking with him we learned how the Pumphouse Camp Ground came about. At that time it was not quite finished, the caravan power outlets were still to be connected and the ground work was not complete. The local fellow said he belonged to the Binnaway Progress  Association and they were responsible for the creation of this camp spot. He said “we don’t know if anybody will use this place but the old one was not up to scratch and may be closed down”. We asked if we could camp there for the night without power and the reply was “you certainly can and you may like to leave a donation in the box on the wall”. That we did.

The toilet block has both men’s and ladies’; it has toilets and hot showers for $2 in the slot for five minutes. Three  times we have been there it has been clean and tidy on all occasions. The caravan sites have coin-operated power outlets complete with site light and water tap. This coin system seems to work well and we can’t see why all camp spots don’t operate similarly. It would be a much welcomed improvement for caravans and motorhomes looking for good, quiet camps, and actually paying for what they use.

We overnighted there again on June 9, 2014 and were surprised to see so many units camped there. I counted 11 units as I walked around and some came in after dark. I spoke to one gentleman from a lovely motorhome and he said “I’ve been here since Wednesday and it’s been like this every night” adding that he came in to get off the highways for the long weekend and here it was nice and quiet.

The Pumphouse Camp Ground is now cared for and kept clean and tidy by the Binnaway Men’s Shed Group; and they do a marvellous job. There have been new  trees planted, fences erected, and a new gun emplacement shelter erected.

The camp ground is situated on the northern side of town and sits along the banks of the Castlereagh River. The area all along the river bank and leading back to the shopping area is very well kept. The winding concrete path runs through the ‘park-like’ setting all the way to the shops. It is right alongside the road leading to Coonabarabran but is not noisy, as it is only a minor road leading out of the township.

On departing the camp, we drove to the main street and parked our motorhome. We walked the street admiring the old buildings, especially the old time pubs and bank buildings. Some now used as residences but still well cared for. One interesting note is, the Royal Hotel, commonly called the ‘top pub’ was used in the making of the film Shiralee starring Peter Finch.

On entering the local, and only, butcher shop to purchase supplies of meat we were engaged in conversation  with Tony, the butcher. He has been in the main street of Binnaway all his working life and he told us how the Pumphouse Camp Ground came about. He was saying that the amount of caravans and motorhomes now coming through Binnaway has increased dramatically since the establishment of the camp ground.

And I agree, we saw a lot in the short time we were there. And all I can say is well done to the locals of Binnaway.

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Written: Thu 01 May 2014
Printed: May, 2014
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