Bulloo Shire Council

The Shire of Bulloo ( ) is a local government area in South West Queensland, Australia.

On 17 April 2020 the Queensland Government reorganised the nine localities in the Shire, resulting in six localities by making the following changes:

*Thargomindah, previously being the surrounding area around the town of Thargomindah, was enlarged through the incorporation of most of Bullawarra (except for a small portion in the south of Bullawarra), all of Dynevor and all of Norley.
* Bulloo Downs gained the small portion from the south of Bullawarra (the rest being incorporated into Thargomindah) and lost a small portion of its western land to the locality of Cameron Corner.
* Cameron Corner gained a small portion of land from the west of the Bulloo Downs.
* Nockatunga was renamed ''Noccundra'' after the only town in the locality.

There were no changes to the localities of Durham and Hungerford.

Geography

Bulloo Shire is located in south-west Queensland, about 1,100 kilometres west of the Brisbane CBD. Bulloo Shire is bounded by Barcoo Shire and Quilpie Shire in the north, Paroo Shire in the east, the New South Wales border in the south, and the South Australian border in the west. In the south-west corner of the shire, Cameron Corner is the point on the borders of all three states. The Bulloo Shire covers an area of , and its administrative centre is the town of Thargomindah.

The Shire includes the localities of Bullawarra, Bulloo Downs, Cameron Corner, Durham, Dynevor, Norley and Thargomindah township as well as parts of the localities of Hungerford and Nockatunga. The Shire is located where New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia meet.

Major industries in the shire include wool, beef, opals, oil and natural gas.

Land Use

The primary land use for the Bulloo Shire is grazing. Due to the climate and extensive grazing systems, there is a low incidence of parasites in this area. As a result, historical chemical usage is low, which has allowed many landholders to market their products as organic and reap the benefits of premium prices. However, the reduced number of organically accredited feed supplements can make the production system difficult to manage in poorer climatic conditions.

The Channel Country in the west of the shire is a significant area that is subject to periodic beneficial flooding, which is used in a certain way by larger pastoral companies in particular. Areas that have been beneficially flooded in a season can be used to rapidly gain weight on cattle. These weight gains can be at the same levels as feedlot weight gains for several months at a time. As a result, large companies transport significant numbers of stock, as beneficial flooding occurs as part of their backgrounding or fattening processes.

Numerous oil and gas fields are found in the Cooper Basin to the west of the shire, including Australia's largest onshore oilfield, the Jackson Oil Field. A number of these oil and gas fields are situated on productive pastoral land that is used for cattle grazing away from the actual well sites and their access points.

Natural Features

The Bulloo Shire has many waterways which have been essential to the development, exploration, and sustaining of the shire. There is a complex relationship between stock movement, the artificial provision of water, and the development of the transport routes and settlement patterns in Outback regions. Historical and modern routes through the arid pastoral districts of Australia were dependent on the availability of water. The extensive system of travelling stock routes in western Queensland was made feasible by the discovery of water.

The Bulloo River originates in the Gowan Ranges, south of Blackall and is fed by a number of smaller tributaries as it flows its 600 km length through the township of Thargomindah into several ephemeral lakes in northern New South Wales. The river usually consists of a series of waterholes rather than a flowing watercourse, however monsoonal rain in central Queensland may cause extensive flooding where no localised rainfall has occurred.

The Wilson River is a tributary of Cooper Creek. The River passes through the land belonging to Nockatunga Station. A large waterhole exists within the Wilson River adjacent to the Noccundra Hotel and is referred to locally as the Noccundra Waterhole.  This waterhole is a popular campsite for locals and visitors alike.

The 1,300 km Cooper Creek water originates between Longreach and Charters Towers as the Thompson River; or East of Tambo as the Barcoo River. It flows through a wide area of waterholes and channels which ultimately flood the Strzelecki, Stony and Tirari Deserts and drain into Lake Eyre in flood years.

The Paroo River flows through the Currawinya Lakes RAMSAR Wetlands which are situated to the North of Hungerford and drains into the Murray Darling Basin.

Lake Bindegolly is situated between Thargomindah and Cunnamulla and is one of a string of salt and freshwater wetlands that join to form a ribbon of water after heavy rain in the local area.

Vegetation

Mulga scrubland is the predominant vegetation in the shire, varying in openness and height.

The channels of the Bulloo River and other waterways may be gidgee woodland, tall open shrubland or eucalypt open woodland. There are a number of threatened or at-risk species in the shire, as is evidenced by the significant National Park and reserve presence.

History

The Shire's traditional landowners were the Kullilli people. Bulloo Shire is named after the Bulloo River, which starts in the Gowan Ranges south of Blackall and is thought to be derived from an Aboriginal word meaning "slow".

Paroo Division was established on 11 November 1879 as one of the original divisions proclaimed under the ''Divisional Boards Act 1879''.
On 3 June 1880, the western part of the Paroo Division was separated to create the Bulloo Division.

On 21 June 1883, the boundaries between Diamantina Division and Bulloo Division were adjusted.

With the passage of the ''Local Authorities Act 1902'', Bulloo Division became the Shire of Bulloo on 31 March 1903.

On 17 July 1930 Shire of Bulloo was abolished and absorbed into Shire of Quilpie, but was re-instated on 4 July 1931.

On 17 April 2020 the Queensland Government reorganised the nine localities in the Shire, resulting in six localities by making the following changes:

* Thargomindah, previously being the surrounding area around the town of Thargomindah, was enlarged through the incorporation of most of Bullawarra (except for a small portion in the south of Bullawarra), all of Dynevor and all of Norley
* Bulloo Downs gained the small portion from the south of Bullawarra (the rest being incorporated into Thargomindah) and lost a small portion of its western land to the locality of Cameron Corner
* Cameron Corner gained a small portion of land from the west of the Bulloo Downs
* Nockatunga was renamed ''Noccundra'' after the only town in the locality

There were no changes to the localities of Durham and Hungerford.

Towns and localities

The Shire of Bulloo includes the following towns and localities:

* Thargomindah (town and locality)
* Bulloo Downs (locality)
* Cameron Corner (locality)
* Durham (locality) containing the abandoned town of Oontoo
* Hungerford (town and locality)
* Noccundra (town and locality)
Since April 2020, there are three former localities and one former locality name:

* Bullawarra (former locality)
* Dynevor (former locality)
* Nockatunga (former locality name)
* Norley (former locality)

Tourism

The Bulloo Shire is uniquely placed to capitalise on Outback travel options for backpackers, families and grey nomads and as such has invested heavily in time and resources to ensure positive visitor experiences. Typical tourism season for the region encompases the cooler periods of the year, from April through to October.

Each community within the Bulloo Shire has its own hotel, food and accommodation services. Thargomindah serves as the main township of the Shire, and includes a variety of services and facilities to support locals and tourists, from mechanics through to accommodation.

Amenities

Bulloo Shire Council operates a public library in Thargomindah. There is also a public pool, community centre and Visitor Information hub located in Thargomindah.

The Shire's main health services are administered by a Community Clinic located in Thargomindah. The clinic is staffed by permanent nursing and administrative personnel during business hours, but is available through 24 Hour Emergency Care serviced by the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

Chairmen and mayors

* 1927: J. Cordner
* 2008–present: John Charles Sidney (Tractor) Ferguson

Population

Education

Primary-aged children are catered through either Thargomindah State School (Kindy-Year 6) or through Schools of the Air Distance Education.

Secondary-aged children from Years 7-12 are able to enrol in either Charleville or Brisbane Schools of Distance Education through Bulloo Shire Council's joint effort establishment of a Remote Secondary Learning Facility in 2012. This facility is located in Thargomindah, on the State School grounds.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bulloo Shire

Local government areas of Queensland
South West Queensland
1880 establishments in Australia