| Yaraka Queensland | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Welcome to Yaraka sign | |||||||||||||||
  Yaraka | |||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 24°52′55″S144°04′41″E / 24.8819°S 144.0780°E | ||||||||||||||
| Established | 1917 | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 4731 | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation | 210 m (689 ft) | ||||||||||||||
| Time zone | AEST (UTC+10:00) | ||||||||||||||
| Location |
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| LGA(s) | Longreach Region | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Gregory | ||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Maranoa | ||||||||||||||
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Yaraka is a rural town and locality in the Longreach Region of Queensland, Australia. [1] [2] Until 2021, the town of Yaraka was part of the locality of Isisford.
Yaraka is in Central West Queensland, Australia. It was the terminus of a Yaraka branch railway line. It is located 220 kilometres (140 mi) south of Longreach, 165 kilometres (103 mi) west of Blackall and 100 kilometres (62 mi) south of the town of Isisford.
The landscape is an open Mitchell grass downs country, which provides good grazing country. Grey Range is located near Yaraka and is characterised by rocky ridges, spinifex grass and mulga.
The locality has the following mountains:
The first European to pass through the area was Edmund Kennedy in 1847. In 1860, graziers began to populate the area and farm sheep and cattle. In 1910, the Queensland Government authorised the building of the 2,060-kilometre (1,280 mi) railway line in Western Queensland to support the pastoral industry. However, only a quarter of the line was built and Yaraka became the end of the Yaraka branch railway line.
Yaraka became a town when the Yaraka branch railway line from Emmet opened in April 1917. [12] The station was called Yaraka by the Queensland Railway Department who said it was the Aboriginal name meaning "of white spear grass which grows in the district" [13] or referring to button grass Eleusine aegyptica. [1]
Yaraka State School opened on 5 March 1920. [14] It was mothballed on 31 December 2008 and closed on 31 December 2009. [15] [16] It was at 11 Quilp Street ( 24°53′10″S144°04′31″E / 24.8861°S 144.0754°E ). [17] [9] The school's website was archived. [18]
The town prospered for the next twenty years and in the 1930s had a population of about 100. [19] In 1932 a journalist toured this area and described the town in the following terms.
"Yaraka: This little place is the end of the line, and enjoys the privilege of seeing one train a week. It is situated well down the Barcoo, about one hundred miles from where the rivers meet, and becomes Cooper's Creek.
No doubt people who live and work in isolated places such as this are entitled to more consideration than they receive. They certainly have courage and endurance above the average." [20]
On Saturday 19 March 1932, a strong gale of wind during a storm blew the Church of England off its blocks and three houses lost their roof. [21]
In the 1950s, the Yaraka railway station became a major centre for the transportation of cattle. In November 1953 over 5,442 cattle were handled which was the largest number since the line opened in 1917. It was noted that this was unusual in these country yards and that Yaraka was unsurpassed in this respect. [22]
The line was officially closed on 14 October 2005 and has been dismantled. [23] These days however Yaraka has become known as one of Queensland's 'vanishing towns' and its population is declining. In 2009, the school closed due to low student numbers. In 2014, the school building was gifted to the local community. In 2016 the community reopened the school with the children enrolled at Longreach School of Distance Education but locally assisted by a governess employed by the families. [16]
In 1998, as part of his 'Pass the Hat Around' tour, Lee Kernaghan performed before an audience of 3,000 people in Yaraka, in order to raise money for a defibrillator for the medical clinic and to help the school. [24] [25]
On 10 September 2021, a new locality called Yaraka was created around the town of Yaraka, the land being excised from the locality of Isisford to avoid confusion and restore historical connections. [26] [27] [28] [29]
There are no schools in Yaraka nor nearby. The nearest primary school is Isisford State School in Isisford, 102 kilometres (63 mi) to the north. The nearest secondary school is Blackall State School in Blackall, 162 kilometres (101 mi) to the north-east. [9] Distance education and boarding schools are the alternatives. The former Yaraka State School building at11 Quilp Street ( 24°53′10″S144°04′31″E / 24.8860°S 144.0754°E ) is available for children undertaking distance education to study together with the assistance of a governess. [16]
There is a hotel providing accommodation.
Occasional services are held at the Anglican church in Quilp Street ( 24°53′06″S144°04′33″E / 24.8851°S 144.0757°E ). [30]
Other amenities operated by the Longreach Regional Council include a community hall, showgrounds, swimming pool, tennis courts and golf course. [31]
Mount Slowcombe Lookout ( 24°50′34″S144°03′29″E / 24.8427°S 144.0580°E ) is off the Emmet Yaraka Road has been described as "an ideal place to enjoy the stunning outback sunset or the glorious colours of a sunrise". [32] The view takes in the Yanyang Range ( 24°54′33″S144°05′59″E / 24.9092°S 144.0997°E ), [33] Mount Brookes at 379 metres (1,243 ft) above sea level ( 24°48′13″S144°04′41″E / 24.8036°S 144.0781°E ) [34] and Fort Douglas at 321 metres (1,053 ft) above sea level ( 24°53′51″S143°59′56″E / 24.8975°S 143.9989°E ), [35] all with ever changing colours, shadows and shades. There is a sealed road and electric barbeque and picnic area at the summit. Nearby waterholes offer an abundance of bird and wildlife. [36]
Magee's Shanty is the historic site of the shanty immortalised in Banjo Paterson's poem "A Bush Christening", There is also the ruins of the Cobb & Co pub and the lonely grave of gold miner Richard Magoffin who perished in 1885. [37]
Yaraka Opal Field encompasses the mines within and west of the Macedon Range including Harlequin and Mount Tighe. It is known for top patterns and various types of opal in as many as eight levels. Mines include Spur, Polykettle, Cockatoo and Pretty Gully. [38]
There are two national parks near Yaraka. Welford National Park is notable for golden-green spinifex, white-barked ghost gums and red sand dunes. [39] A highlight of Idalia National Park are the dense Mulga woodlands and views. [40]
Other attractions are fishing, exploring, wild life, and geology. [41]
There are free caravan sites with water and electricity near the Yaraka Community Hall. [42]
Climate statistics include:
Longreach is a town and a locality in the Longreach Region, Queensland, Australia. It is the administrative centre of the Longreach Regional Council, which was established in 2008 as a merger of the former Longreach, Ilfracombe, and Isisford shires. Longreach is a well known tourist destination due to its aviation history and importance. In the 2021 census, the locality of Longreach had a population of 3,124 people.
Blackall is a rural town and locality in the Blackall-Tambo Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census the locality of Blackall had a population of 1,416 people.
Isisford is a rural town and locality in the Longreach Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, the locality of Isisford had a population of 218 people.
Tambo is a rural town and locality in the Blackall-Tambo Region, Queensland, Australia. Cattle and tourism are the major industries of the town. A number of heritage buildings survive from the earliest days of settlement.
Ilfracombe is a rural town and locality in the Longreach Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, the locality of Ilfracombe had a population of 259 people.
The Shire of Barcoo is a local government area in Central West Queensland, Australia. In June 2018, the shire had a population of 267 people.
The Shire of Isisford was a local government area located in central western Queensland, between the towns of Longreach and Blackall. It covered an area of 10,482.6 square kilometres (4,047.4 sq mi), and existed as a local government entity from 1908 until 2008, when it amalgamated with the Shires of Ilfracombe and Longreach to form the Longreach Region.
The Longreach Region is a local government area in Central West Queensland, Australia. Established in 2008, it superseded three previous local government areas that had existed for more than a century.
Jundah is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Barcoo, Queensland, Australia. Jundah is the administrative centre of the Barcoo Shire local government area. In the 2016 census, the locality of Jundah had a population of 106 people.
Adavale is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Quilpie, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, the locality of Adavale had a population of 93 people. By 2021, the population was down to 72.
The Alice River in central Queensland, Australia rises on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range. The river bisects the Shire of Barcaldine, flowing in a south-westerly direction towards Isisford and its confluence with the Barcoo River. The town of Barcaldine is located on the Alice River. The Alice River's tributaries include Jordan Creek and Lagoon Creek. The Alice River is often dry, except after the annual summer rains.
Central West Queensland is a remote region in the Australian state of Queensland which covers 396,650.2 km2. The region lies to the north of South West Queensland and south of the Gulf Country. It has a population of approximately 12,387 people.
The Blackall and Yaraka Branch Railways are railway lines in Central West Queensland, Australia. The former branch connected the small town of Jericho on the Central Western railway line with Blackall and the latter branch connected Blackall to the even smaller town of Yaraka. Blackall was named after Sir Samuel Wensley Blackall who from 1868 to 1871 was the second Governor of Queensland.
Morella was a rural locality within Longreach Region, Queensland, Australia. Since January 2019, it has been amalgamated into the locality of Longreach.
The Grey Range is a low-lying range of hills located in the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales. The range extends from the west of Blackall of Central West Queensland in the north to Tibooburra in the far west of New South Wales in the south.
Emmet is a ghost town in the rural locality of Isisford in the Longreach Region of Queensland, Australia. Today, the town has a population of two.
Old Isisford District Hospital is a heritage-listed former public hospital at 6 St Agnes Street, Isisford, Longreach Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Queensland Department of Public Works and built from 1914 to 1918. It is also known as Isisford District Hospital (former). It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 9 September 2014.
Barcaldine Downs is a former rural locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Barcaldine Downs had a population of 14 people.
Isisford–Blackall Road is a continuous 122-kilometre (76 mi) road route in the Longreach and Blackall-Tambo local government areas of Queensland, Australia. It is a state-controlled regional road, rated as a local road of regional significance (LRRS).
