Canoona
| Canoona Queensland | |||||||||||||||
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 Eucalyptus fibrosa tree, Canoona, 2011 | |||||||||||||||
  Canoona | |||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 23°00′54″S 150°08′56″E / 23.015°S 150.1488°E | ||||||||||||||
| Population | 81 (2016 census)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| • Density | 0.1322/km2 (0.3425/sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 4702 | ||||||||||||||
| Area | 612.6 km2 (236.5 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Time zone | AEST (UTC+10:00) | ||||||||||||||
| Location |
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| LGA(s) | Shire of Livingstone | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Mirani | ||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Capricornia | ||||||||||||||
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Canoona is a rural locality in the Livingstone Shire, Queensland, Australia.[2] In the 2016 census, Canoona had a population of 81 people.[1] It was the site of the first North Australian gold rush.[3]
Geography
The Fitzroy River forms the southern boundary of the locality, while Marlborough Creek and Mountain Hut Creek form most of its western boundary. The Bruce Highway forms most of the north-eastern boundary with North Coast railway line running closely beside it.[4]
A number of creeks flow through the locality, all are tributaries of the Fitzroy River.[4]
The Princhester Conservation Park lies in the west of the locality and the Lake Learmouth State Forest in the east.[4] Apart from these protected areas, the land is predominantly used for grazing.[4]
Although a town centre was surveyed for Canoona at 23°01′58″S 150°08′21″E / 23.0328°S 150.1393°E, no township remains and the township land is now a reserved area.[4]
Despite its name, Kunwarara railway station (22°54′55″S 150°08′10″E / 22.9153°S 150.1361°E) on the North Coast line is located within the boundaries of present-day Canoona.[5] Canoona railway station (23°04′34″S 150°16′38″E / 23.0761°S 150.2773°E) is an abandoned station on the North Coast railway line.[6]
History
After the goldfields in New South Wales and Victoria had been mined to the extent where there were few opportunities for the independent miner possessed of only basic equipment, many miners were seeking a new opportunity. On hearing that gold had been found at Canoona in about July 1858, it stimulated a gold rush and approximately 15000 miners descended on Canoona within the following months. However, relatively little gold was found at Canoona and there was great disappointment and Canoona became known as a "duffer". Having spent everything to come to Canoona, many miners were then destitute. Having lost so much of its labour force, the Victorian Government sent a ship to enable destitute miners to return to Victoria and repay their fare by working in Melbourne on their return. While many returned to the southern states, others remained in Queensland providing a labour force that enabled the development of the newly established colony of Queensland. Some remained and would try their luck in Queensland's later gold rushes.[3] For example, Hugo William Du Rietz was enticed to Australia by the gold rushes in Ballarat and then came to the Canoona gold rush and then to the Gympie gold rush. Although never particularly successful as a miner, he was successful as an architect and builder and took an active civic role in Brisbane and Gympie.[7]
The North Coast railway line through Canoona was opened in 1915.[5]
Although Kunwarara railway station remains officially an operational station,[6] in 1994 the station building was relocated to the Australian Workers Heritage Museum in Barcaldine.[8]
Notable deaths
- Alwyn Torenbeek (1937-2015), a notable Australian drover, endurance- and bronc rider, was killed in an accident on a rural property at Canoona in 2015. It is believed that the accident occurred when Torenbeek inadvertently pressed the accelerator while attempting to move over to the passenger side of the vehicle he was in, causing it to collide into a post.
References
- ^ a b Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Canoona (SSC)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
- ^ "Canoona – locality in Livingstone Shire (entry 48560)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
- ^ a b "Canoona". Queensland Places. Centre for the Government of Queensland, University of Queensland. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
- ^ a b c d e "Queensland Globe". State of Queensland. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
- ^ a b "Kunwarara – railway station in Shire of Livingstone (entry 18627)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
- ^ a b "Railway stations and sidings". Queensland Open Data. Queensland Government. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "PERSONAL". Gympie Times and Mary River Mining Gazette (Qld. : 1868 - 1919). Qld.: National Library of Australia. 10 August 1908. p. 3. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
- ^ "Kunwarara Station: Australian Worker's Heritage Centre". Brandi Projects. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
Further reading
- McDonald, Lorna (1 January 1979), The Rockhampton Delusion: a brief history of the Canoona rush, Oxley Memorial Library Advisory Committee for the Library Board of Queensland, retrieved 18 September 2015 — full text available online
External links
- "Canoona". Queensland Places. Centre for the Government of Queensland, University of Queensland.