Camooweal, Queensland
| Camooweal Queensland |
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 Camooweal
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| Population: | 199 [1] | ||||||
| Established: | 1884 | ||||||
| Postcode: | 4828 | ||||||
| Coordinates: | 19°55′S 138°07′E / 19.917°S 138.117°ECoordinates: 19°55′S 138°07′E / 19.917°S 138.117°E | ||||||
| Elevation: | 231.2 m (759 ft) | ||||||
| Location: | |||||||
| LGA: | Mount Isa | ||||||
| State electorate: | Mount Isa | ||||||
| Federal Division: | Kennedy | ||||||
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Camooweal is a small town in north-western Queensland, Australia, located 188 km north-west of the city of Mount Isa and 12 km east of the Northern Territory border. Local government is provided by the Mount Isa City Council. The town lies on the Barkly Highway, and is adjacent to the Georgina River. At the 2006 census, Camooweal had a population of 199.[1]
[edit] History
The area was originally inhabited by the Indjilandji Indigenous Australians.[2][3] The town is said to take its name from surveyor Mr GT Weale, who was apparently the first person to bring camels into the area,[4] although this has been questioned.[5]
William Landsborough in 1861 named the Barkly Tablelands after the Governor of Victoria, His Excellency, Sir Henry Barkly. The first settler to the area was John Sutherland, who took up the Rocklands lease in 1865. Stock losses to the local dingos and Wedge-tailed Eagles; lack of water and isolation soon forced him to abandon his lease. The Englishmen Benjamin Crosthwaite and William Tetley, who were marginally more successful, took up the lease again in 1876.
The initial town was gazetted in 1884 to be built on a 4-square-mile (10 km2) plot by Lake Francis. A year later the present site was re-gazetted and within a year a post office was built. Other milestones for the town were the addition of a police station in 1886, opening of a provisional school in 1893, drilling of the town bore in 1897 and the arrival of electricity in 1952.
The road through Camooweal to the Northern Territory was the inland defence route for World War II. This road was built by army engineers and carried over 1000 vehicles a day and there are numerous historical sites marked along the road.
[edit] Today
The population of Camooweal is only a few hundred people. Along the main road (the Barkly Highway) there are several caravan stops or van parks which will take mobile homes and tents.
Australian country musicician Slim Dusty (official discography) wrote a song entitled simply 'Camooweal' which features this town.
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ a b Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Camooweal (L) (Urban Centre/Locality)". 2006 Census QuickStats. http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/LocationSearch?collection=Census&period=2006&areacode=UCL311000&producttype=QuickStats&breadcrumb=PL&action=401. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
- ^ Roberts, Tony "Frontier Justice: A history of the Gulf Country to 1900, UQP, 2005, p 3, ISBN 9780702233616
- ^ http://www.nntt.gov.au/News-and-Communications/Newsletters/State-E-Newsletters-Archive/Documents/State%20e-newsletter%20TNT%20Qld%20March%202003.pdf
- ^ http://www.abc.net.au/queensland/federation/stories/s402975.htm
- ^ http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/23266174
