The town museum is the place to understand why Chinchilla is more than a highway stop. Its strongest collection is Chinchilla Red petrified wood, but the grounds also hold restored pioneer buildings, vintage machinery, a steam sawmill, and material from the district's timber and farming history.
It is the best first stop in town before fossicking for petrified wood or driving the back roads north of Chinchilla. Allow at least an hour; more if old machinery and rural social history are your thing.