There’s a surprising amount going on in this tiny settlement halfway between Charleville and Cunnamulla.
Story John Dunn Photo Tourism and Events Queensland
Unexpected signs greet you when you drive along the Matilda Highway into tiny Wyandra in south-western Queensland. ‘Sandy beach’ says one. Hold on, we’re almost 1,000km from the sea! ‘Look out for trains’ says another – but, wait a minute, the railway has been closed for 15 years. ‘Come in and buy a burger before we both starve’ invites a third, but it’s outside the post office.
So, what’s going on in this remote cattle country settlement of 78 people halfway between Charleville and Cunnamulla? Quite a lot, actually, especially since Glenn Paterson came to town some 20 years ago.
Glenn wanted a change of pace from his advertising job in Brisbane, and then he and his late wife Kym spotted a post office agency for sale in Wyandra. They came, looked, decided they would give it a go and set about catering for the tourist trade “showing the vast number of southerners who migrate north every winter what life in the bush was like in a bygone era”.
They enlarged the agency into a general store and cafe, set up a caravan park alongside and decorated it with a collection of Australiana items from long ago, such as a 1960s LandCruiser ute, with the tray serving as a table for their Wyandra Whoppa burgers (that really do have ‘the lot’).
This story excerpt is from issue #168
Outback Magazine: Aug/Sep 2026
