Heritage Listed and therefore historic in its own right, the Corfield and Fitzmaurice building is a keeper of all kinds of history as well as displaying a range of crafts for sale. Two pioneering teamsters established the general store in 1878, with the store servicing Winton and the surrounding pastoral properties through two world wars and beyond before ceasing operations in the late 1980s.

The store reopened in 1994 as a craft shop, where you will find all sorts of crafts from all over the country. It’s a good spot to browse among opal jewellery, silver jewellery, handcrafts and books ranging from CWA recipe books to publications on the Great Artesian Basin.

You can enter the Combo Crafts part of the complex for free. For a gold coin donation, visit the informative displays including a life-sized diorama which features prehistory and the probable story behind 3,300 fossilised dinosaur footprints at the Heritage-Listed Dinosaur Stampede National Monument at Lark Quarry Conservation Park.

Fast forward to the more recent past and you see hanging from rafters inside the building an intriguing graphic display of double-sided floating panels showing how the store—and Winton itself—began in the days of bullock wagon, horse and cart. Another display highlights the importance of the wool industry to the region and showcases wool wagons, wool classing and pressing. 

Born in a similar era but transformed to a thing of beauty over aeons is Australia’s national  gemstone, the opal. The Queensland Boulder Opal Association has an interesting display showcasing the local opal industry.