| Blair Athol Queensland | |
|---|---|
  Blair Athol | |
| Coordinates | 22°41′49″S147°32′44″E / 22.69694°S 147.54556°E |
| Established | 1863 |
| Postcode(s) | 4721 |
| LGA(s) | Isaac Region |
Blair Athol is a former town within Clermont in the Isaac Region, Queensland, Australia. [1] It was obliterated by the development of the Blair Athol coal mine.
Early settler James MacLaren took up a pastoral run in the area in 1863 and named it Blair Athol after the village Blair Atholl, the location of Blair Castle of the Duke of Atholl in Scotland. [1] While sinking a well in 1864, he discovered coal on the property. [2]
By 1873, early shafts were dug, revealing extensive seams of coal. At that time, around 100 people were living in the town and there was a hotel, although no township had been officially surveyed. [3] The town was surveyed in 1878. [4]
Blair Athol Provisional School opened on 6 November 1893. It became a State School in 1909. [5] [6]
Blair Athol Post Office opened on 1 July 1927 (a receiving office had been open from 1910) and closed in 1966. [7]
On 18 May 1922, the Queensland Governor Matthew Nathan officially opened Australia's first open cut mine at Blair Athol. [8]
By the 1970s, it became apparent that there were significant coal seams under the town. In order to construct an open cut mine, the town had to be sacrificed. [2]
The school closed on 31 December 1974. [5]
In 1981 a reunion was held at the community hall to mark the final end of the town, following which all of the town was demolished. Only the cemetery remains. [2]
Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, the population of Rockhampton was 79,293. A common nickname for Rockhampton is 'Rocky', and the demonym of Rockhampton is Rockhamptonite.
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Clermont is a rural town and locality in the Isaac Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, the locality of Clermont had a population of 2,952 people.
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The Blair Athol Coal Mine is a coal mine located in the Bowen Basin of Central Queensland, Australia. It is located over the former site of the township of Blair Athol. The mine has coal reserves amounting to 195 million tonnes of thermal coal, one of the largest coal reserves in Asia and the world. The mine has an annual production capacity of 12.9 million tonnes of coal.
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Stanwell is a rural town and locality in the Rockhampton Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, the locality of Stanwell had a population of 301 people.
Morinish is a rural locality in the Rockhampton Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Morinish had a population of 62 people.
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Lawgi Dawes is a rural locality in the Shire of Banana, Queensland, Australia. It contains the neighbourhood of Lawgi, a former town.
William Martin Haenke (1875-1953) was an Australian architect and mine owner.
