Chinchilla comes from an Aboriginal word 'jinchilla' which means 'cypress pine'
The Chinchilla Melon Festival is so famous that on separate occasions, people have mentioned to me that they saw it on TV, among whom was a Malaysian and a German.
The early herdsmen in Chinchilla were Scottish and Chinese. No wonder it's easy to get Chinese food here!
The court house is also the only cinema in town
The Chinchilla Folk Museum specializes in transport and holds the photocopy of the very first Qantas ticket issued to Mr A. Kennedy. The original is kept in ANZ Bank, also in Chinchilla.
There is a Presbyterian Church here - such a small town but it holds two services on Sundays... (morning and afternoon)
Petrified wood or fossilized ancient trees in Chinchilla are of the Pentoxlin family, whereby each tree branch has its own root. Petrified wood is what you call wood so old that it has turned to stone or got fossilized. The hobby of searching for this wood is called fossicking.
And coolest of all, George Miller, director and producer of "Happy Feet" is from Chinchilla. The animated movie on the tap-dancing penguin. To think I watched the movie on my Qantas flight to Brisbane! How quaint! Click here to read about George Miller. He was actually a physician before he went into the movie business.
George Miller, director and producer of "Happy Feet" is from Chinchilla. The animated movie on the tap-dancing penguin. To think I watched the movie on my Qantas flight to Brisbane! How quaint! Click