Cooladdi

Cooladdi is a ghost town and rural locality in the Shire of Murweh, Queensland, Australia.[2][3] In the 2016 census the locality of Cooladdi had a population of 16 people.[1]

Cooladdi
Queensland
Cooladdi
Coordinates26.6402°S 145.4619°E / -26.6402; 145.4619 (Cooladdi (town centre))
Population16 (2016 census)[1]
 • Density0.00401/km2 (0.0104/sq mi)
Postcode(s)4479
Elevation300 m (984 ft)
Area3,990.2 km2 (1,540.6 sq mi)
Time zoneAEST (UTC+10:00)
LGA(s)Shire of Murweh
State electorate(s)Warrego
Federal Division(s)Maranoa
Suburbs around Cooladdi:
Adavale Langlo Ward
Adavale Cooladdi Bakers Bend
Humeburn Wyandra Murweh

The town is west of Charleville on the road to Quilpie, 826 kilometres (513 mi) west of the city of Brisbane.[4]

It claims to be Australia's smallest town.[5] In 2015, the population was 3 (down from 4 in 2013), all of whom reside at the general store.[6]

Geography

The town is in the centre of the locality. The Western railway line passes from east to west through the town and locality. The locality was served by a number of railway stations (from east to west):[4]

The Diamantina Developmental Road also passes from east to west through the town and locality.[4]

History

Gunya (also known as Kunya, Kunja, Kurnja) is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken by the Gunya people. The Gunya language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Paroo Shire Council, taking in Cunnamulla and extending north towards Augathella, east towards Bollon and west towards Thargomindah.[8]

The railway station was originally called Yarronvale after a local pastoral station with the town taking its name from the railway station. However, it was renamed in 1913 to Cooladdi, an Aboriginal word meaning black duck, to avoid confusion with the pastoral station, which was 15 miles away.

Cooladdi was a railhead for the local pastoral community. At one time, Cooladdi had a school, post office, and police station with a population of about 270 people. As the railway line extended further west, Cooladdi's role and population declined.[9]

The Cooladdi State School originally opened on 19 March 1926 as a Provisional School with 9 students under teacher A.W. Marsh. In 1933 a new school building was constructed and the school redesignated as a State School. The school closed on 3 May 1974.[10][11][12]

In 2015, the population was 3 (down from 4 in 2013), all of whom resided at the general store.[6]

In the 2016 census the locality of Cooladdi had a population of 16 people.[1]

Economy

There are a number of homesteads in the locality:[13]

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Cooladdi (SSC)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  2. "Cooladdi – town in Shire of Murweh (entry 8067)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  3. "Cooladdi – locality in Shire of Murweh (entry 42925)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  4. "Queensland Globe". State of Queensland. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  5. "I spent the night in Australia's smallest town. Here's what I saw". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 4 September 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  6. Arthur, Chrissy (16 November 2015). "Stories and photos capture vibrant past of Queensland's outback 'ghost town' Cooladdi". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 13 October 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  7. "Railway stations and sidings - Queensland". Queensland Open Data. Queensland Government. 2 October 2020. Archived from the original on 5 October 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  8. "Gunya". State Library of Queensland. 21 January 2020. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  9. "Naming Stations—Glass House Mountains". The Brisbane Courier (17, 512). 28 February 1914. p. 4. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. Queensland Family History Society (2010), Queensland schools past and present (Version 1.01 ed.), Queensland Family History Society, ISBN 978-1-921171-26-0
  11. "WESTERN LINE". Daily Mail (7289). Brisbane. 9 July 1925. p. 14. Retrieved 21 September 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. "Agency ID 182, Cooladdi State School". Queensland State Archives. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  13. "Homesteads - Queensland". Queensland Open Data. Queensland Government. 18 November 2020. Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2020.

Further reading
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.