Bedourie is a town and a

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localities (Australia), in which a locality is a geographic subdivis ...

in the

Shire of Diamantina The Shire of Diamantina is a local government area in Central West Queensland, bordering South Australia and the Northern Territory. Its administrative centre is in the town of Bedourie. Like most places in Queensland with the "Diamantina" nam ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia. In the , Bedourie had a population of 122 people.

Geography

Georgina River flooding near Bedourie, 2016

Bedourie is located in the

Channel Country The Channel Country is a region of outback Australia mostly in the state of Queensland but also in parts of South Australia, Northern Territory and New South Wales. The name comes from the numerous intertwined rivulets that cross the region ...

Central West Queensland 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 peo ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, lying on Eyre Creek. It is located west of the state capital,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, and north of

Birdsville Birdsville is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Diamantina, Queensland, Australia. In the the locality of Birdsville had a population of 110 people. It is a popular tourist destination with many people using it as a starting point acro ...

. Bedourie is the administrative centre of the

Diamantina Shire The Shire of Diamantina is a local government area in Central West Queensland, bordering South Australia and the Northern Territory. Its administrative centre is in the town of Bedourie. Like most places in Queensland with the "Diamantina" na ...

, which also comprises the towns of Birdsville and

Betoota Betoota is a ghost town within the locality of Birdsville, in the Shire of Diamantina, in the Channel Country of Central West Queensland, Australia. The last permanent resident, Sigmund Remienko, died in 2004. Betoota is situated on a gibber pla ...

. When the

Georgina River The Georgina River is the north-westernmost of the three major rivers of the Channel Country in Central West Queensland, that also flows through a portion of the Northern Territory, in central Australia. Part of the Lake Eyre basin, the Georgin ...

experiences severe floods the town can be cut off by road for months at a time. Bedourie has the following mountains: * Black Hill () * Mount Cuttiguree () * Mount Prout () * Mount Tarley () * Mount Woneeala () * Pampra Hill () * The Brothers () * The Sisters ()

History

The area around Bedourie is on Karanja land. In 1886, the Diamantina local government division was established. The Royal Hotel opened in 1886 with a thatched roof (later replaced with

corrugated iron Corrugated galvanised iron or steel, colloquially corrugated iron (near universal), wriggly tin (taken from UK military slang), pailing (in Caribbean English), corrugated sheet metal (in North America) and occasionally abbreviated CGI is a bu ...

). Bedourie Post Office opened around July 1903 (

receiving offices A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

known as ''Bidouri'', ''Bedouri'' and ''Bedourie'' had been open since 1887). The Diamantina Shire Council moved its headquarters from

to Bedourie in 1953. Bedourie State School opened on 16 May 1960. The current school building opened in 1967. At the , Bedourie and the surrounding area had a population of 142. Twenty years earlier the town had 60 residents. The Bedourie Public Library had a major refurbishment in 2009. In the , Bedourie had a population of 122 people.

Heritage listings

Bedourie Pisé House, with Royal Hotel in background, 2016

There are a number of heritage-listed sites in Bedourie, including: *

Kidman's Tree of Knowledge Kidman's Tree of Knowledge is a heritage-listed tree at Glengyle Station, Bedourie, Shire of Diamantina, Queensland, Australia. It is also known as Tree of Knowledge. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992. Histo ...

Glengyle Station Glengyle Station most commonly known as Glengyle is a pastoral lease that operates as a cattle station in central west Queensland. Description Glengyle is located north Birdsville and south of Boulia in the Channel Country of Queensland. ...

() * Bedourie Pisé House, 5 Herbert Street ()

Education

Bedourie State School is a government primary (Early Childhood-6) school for boys and girls at 3 Timor Street (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 8 students with 2 teachers and 3 non-teaching staff (1 full-time equivalent). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 7 students with 2 teachers and 5 non-teaching staff (2 full-time equivalent). There are no secondary schools in Bedourie or nearby. The options are

distance education Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually in ...

and boarding school.

Amenities

Bedourie has an aquatic centre, museum, outback golf course, visitor information centre, and a racetrack. The Royal Hotel was built from

adobe brick A mudbrick or mud-brick is an air-dried brick, made of a mixture of loam, mud, sand and water mixed with a binding material such as rice husks or straw. Mudbricks are known from 9000 BCE, though since 4000 BCE, bricks have also been fi ...

s in the 1880s. The

Diamantina Shire Council The Shire of Diamantina is a local government area in Central West Queensland, bordering South Australia and the Northern Territory. Its administrative centre is in the town of Bedourie. Like most places in Queensland with the "Diamantina" nam ...

operates the Bedourie Library on 13 Herbert Street. Simpson Desert Oasis Roadhouse, 2016

The Simpson Desert Roadhouse provides petrol and automotive services, accommodation, general supplies, accommodation, restaurant and bar.

Attractions

The Bedourie Camel Races are held annually in July. The event is coordinated by the Bedourie Golf and Leisure Club and is a major tourist event for the region. As well as camel racing, the event hosts pig races, live music and entertainment and a camp oven cook off.

Climate

Bedourie experiences a hot desert climate ( Köppen: ''BWh'', Trewartha: ''BWhl''); with very hot summers with occasional rains; warm to hot, dry springs and autumns; and mild, dry winters.

References

External links

{{authority control Towns in Queensland Shire of Diamantina Localities in Queensland