The City of Mount Isa is a local government area in north west Queensland. The City covers the urban locality of Mount Isa, the administrative centre, and surrounding area, sharing a boundary with the Northern Territory to the west.
Queensland is the second-largest and third-most populous state in the Commonwealth of Australia. Situated in the north-east of the country, it is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean. To its north is the Torres Strait, with Papua New Guinea located less than 200 km across it from the mainland. The state is the world's sixth-largest sub-national entity, with an area of 1,852,642 square kilometres (715,309 sq mi).
Rooney Brothers was an architecture and constructions business operated by brothers John, Jacob and Matthew Rooney in Queensland, Australia. They dominated the North Queensland building industry until the early years of the 20th century.
The Camooweal Community Hall was built in 1922-23 for the Barkly Tableland Shire Council as a council chambers and community hall.[1]
William Landsborough was the first European to discover the Barkly Tableland were discovered while he was officially engaged in the search for Burke and Wills in 1861. He named it after Sir Henry Barkly, Governor of Victoria.[2] The first European settlers were pastoralists who established sheep runs in the district a few years later. The recession of the late 1860s caused a withdrawal, but in the 1870s pastoral settlement started up again based on cattle. The area was part of Burke Division, later to become Burke Shire.[1]
William Landsborough was an explorer of Australia and notably he was the first explorer to complete a North-to-South crossing of Australia. He was a member of the Queensland Legislative Council.
The Barkly Tableland is a rolling plain of grassland which runs from the eastern part of the Northern Territory into western Queensland. It is one of the five regions in the Northern Territory, Australia and covers 283,648 km2, 21% of the Northern Territory. The Barkly Tableland runs parallel to the southern shore of the Gulf of Carpentaria, from about Mount Isa, Queensland to near Daly Waters.
The Burke and Wills expedition was organised by the Royal Society of Victoria in Australia in 1860–61 of 19 men, led by Robert O'Hara Burke and William John Wills, with the objective of crossing Australia from Melbourne in the south, to the Gulf of Carpentaria in the north, a distance of around 3,250 kilometres. At that time most of the inland of Australia had not been explored by non-Indigenous people and was largely unknown to the European settlers.
Camooweal was formed as a supply centre for pastoral runs at the junction of the Georgina stock route and Northern Territory road. It was surveyed in December 1883 and gazetted as a town in December 1884, the area of the reserve for township purposes being modified in 1894. Its position was important; it was on a major route midway between Burketown and Cloncurry and only 7 miles (11km) from the border between the colony of Queensland and the Northern Territory then controlled by South Australia. It was not only the chief supply centre for a wide area but was also important as a customs post in the pre-Federation era when the affairs of the colonies were separate and customs duty an important source of Queensland Government revenue. Camooweal was supplied through Burketown and by 1892 was described in the Australian Handbook as being on a transport, post and telegraph route and having a customs post, court and police station besides 2 hotels and school and various service and supply businesses. It also served an important role as a social centre for a scattered community.[1]
The Northern Territory is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. It shares borders with Western Australia to the west, South Australia to the south, and Queensland to the east. To the north, the territory looks out to the Timor Sea, the Arafura Sea and the Gulf of Carpentaria, including Western New Guinea and other Indonesian islands. The NT covers 1,349,129 square kilometres (520,902 sq mi), making it the third-largest Australian federal division, and the 11th-largest country subdivision in the world. It is sparsely populated, with a population of only 246,700, making it the least-populous of Australia's eight states and major territories, with fewer than half as many people as Tasmania.
Burketown is an isolated town and locality in the far north-western Shire of Burke, Queensland, Australia. It is located 898km west of Cairns on the Albert River and Savannah Way in the area known as the Gulf Savannah. The town is the administrative centre of the vast Burke Shire Council. In the 2011 census, Burketown had a population of 201 people.
Cloncurry is a town and locality in the Shire of Cloncurry, Queensland, Australia. It is the administrative centre of the shire. At the 2016 census, Cloncurry recorded a population of 2,719 people.
The Barclay Tableland Shire was formed on 10 February 1914 from portions of Burke and Cloncurry Shires with Camooweal at its centre. The name of the shire was changed to Barkly in 1919. The land on which the shire hall was constructed was a local government reserve on the corner of Nowranie Street and the Barkly Highway. The block also contained the police, court house and health reserves and so was a key administrative area in the town.[1]
The Shire of Cloncurry is a local government area in North West Queensland, Australia. It covers an area of 48,113.3 square kilometres (18,576.6 sq mi), and has existed as a local government entity since 1884. The major town and administrative centre of the shire is Cloncurry.
The Barkly Highway is a national highway of both Queensland and the Northern Territory.
The hall was constructed for the shire in 1922-3 with the assistance of a Queensland Government loan of £3000 to be repaid within 10 years. Plans and specifications for the hall were drawn by the Townsville firm of Rooney Brothers, and Hogarth and Hammond carried out the construction, having submitted the lowest tender of £2207. Use of the hall was provided free to the hospital for entertainments and they also had use of the office for monthly meetings. The patriotic service rendered by many men from the district during the first World War was not forgotten and in 1924 an ornate Wunderlich honour board of copper mounted on timber was installed in the hall.[1]
The Australian pound was the currency of Australia from 1910 until 14 February 1966, when it was replaced by the Australian dollar. As with other £sd currencies, it was subdivided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence.
Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. Townsville is Australia's largest urban centre north of the Sunshine Coast, with a population of 173,815 as of the 2016 Australian census. Considered the unofficial capital of North Queensland by locals, Townsville hosts a significant number of governmental, community and major business administrative offices for the northern half of the state. It is in the dry tropics region of Queensland, adjacent to the central section of the Great Barrier Reef. The city is also a major industrial centre, home to one of the worlds largest zinc refineries, a nickel refinery and many other similar activities. The Port of Townsville is also being expanded to allow much larger cargo ships from Asia and the world's largest passenger ships to visit. It is an increasingly important port due to its proximity to Asia and major trading partners such as China.
Wunderlich were a brand of decorative metal panels used for pressed metal ceilings and other architectural elements in Australia.
The hall was too small for the shire's needs and the population of the township and surrounding area was increasing, so in 1935 the Shire again applied to the Queensland Government for a subsidised loan. These were available to help provide work for the unemployed and it was proposed to extend the hall by 30 feet (9.1m) and build a residence for the shire clerk. The loan was granted in order to provide work for the unemployed and consisted of £1450 as a loan and the same amount as a subsidy. Rooneys were sent the plans and specifications for the old building and asked to prepare plans for the new work to match. The tender of H Wilder of Julia Creek was accepted, being £598 for construction of the hall and £895.00 for the residence. At a much later date a small flat was attached to the rear of the hall.[1]
During the second World War, the Barkly Highway was sealed to accommodate supply convoys and Camooweal became an important refuelling stop. The airport was sealed and served as an important base.[1]
The hall has been the venue for all important occasions in the town and has been used for church services, weddings, dances, concerts, weddings, as a voting booth and to entertain important visitors to Camooweal.[1]
On 15 December 1962 the shire became Mount Isa Shire, reflecting the growth and importance of this centre and then was named City of Mt Isa on 1 June 1968. Major work was carried out on the hall in 1984 for the celebration of Camooweal's centenary and again in 1993.[1]
Description
The Camooweal Community Hall is located in a prominent position on the Barkly Highway in the centre of Camooweal. It is a single storey timber building with wide encircling verandahs set on low stumps and has a gambrel roof clad in corrugated iron.[1]
The hall is rectangular in plan with the main entrance from the short axis to Nowranie Street. Entry is by a short flight of steps and there is a central front door flanked by sash windows. The exterior walls have exposed studs and French doors open onto the verandahs along the north and south sides. The verandah roof is supported on timber posts linked by dowel balustrading. The southern verandah has been enclosed by the addition of timber louvres and there are offices on the eastern side.[1]
The hall ceilings are sheeted in decorative pressed metal. Local honour rolls in pressed copper are housed within the hall on the east wall.[1]
A small accommodation unit with a bedroom, kitchen and bathroom adjoins the north east corner of the building.[1]
Heritage listing
Community Hall, Camooweal was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992 having satisfied the following criteria.[1]
The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history.
The Camooweal hall demonstrates the way in which much of western Queensland was settled by means of small service towns on supply routes. They provided a scattered population with essential goods, services, administrative facilities and the social structure to develop a sense of community. The hall also has important associations with the former Barkly Tablelands Shire which has since been absorbed into the Mount Isa local authority.[1]
The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places.
The Camooweal Community Hall is a fine example of a timber shire hall in the vernacular style which has been extended over time while adhering to the original design principles. The wide verandahs with French doors opening out onto them and timber louvres illustrate traditional means of providing shade and ventilation in a hot arid climate.[1]
The place is important because of its aesthetic significance.
The Community Hall is an important public building in a prominent location and in form, scale and material makes an important visual contribution to the townscape of Camooweal.[1]
The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons.
The Community Hall has had a long connection with the people of Camooweal and the surrounding district as the focus for a range of important community services and social events.[1]
Related Research Articles
Mount Isa is a city in the Gulf Country region of Queensland, Australia. It came into existence because of the vast mineral deposits found in the area. Mount Isa Mines (MIM) is one of the most productive single mines in world history, based on combined production of lead, silver, copper and zinc.
Camooweal is a small town and locality in the City of Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia. At the 2011 census, Camooweal had a population of 187.
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