Dajarra 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 Cloncurry The Shire of Cloncurry is a Local government in Australia, local government area in North West Queensland, Australia. It covers an area of , and has existed as a local government entity since 1884. The major town and administrative centre of the ...

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 , Dajarra had a population of 191 people; 60.3% of the population are Indigenous.

Geography

Dajarra is in

North West Queensland The Gulf Country is the region of woodland and savanna grassland surrounding the Gulf of Carpentaria in north western Queensland and eastern Northern Territory on the north coast of Australia. The region is also called the Gulf Savannah. It ...

near the border with the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

. It is about south of

Mount Isa Mount Isa ( ) is a city in the Gulf Country region of Queensland, Australia. It came into existence because of the vast mineral deposits found in the area. Mount Isa Mines (MIM) is one of the most productive single mines in world history, bas ...

on the

Diamantina Developmental Road The Diamantina Developmental Road is a gazetted road in Queensland, Australia, that runs from Charleville in the south-central part of the state to Mount Isa in the north-west. Route description The road passes through the towns of Quilpie ...

(also known as the Boulia Mount Isa Highway). The town is close to the intersection of the Diamantina Developmental Road with the Duchess Dajarra Road, which is part of the Cloncurry-Dajarra Road.

History

The town takes its name from the Dajarra railway station assigned by the

Queensland Railways Department Queensland Rail (QR) is a railway operator in Queensland, Australia. Owned by the Queensland Government, it operates local and long-distance passenger services, as well as owning and maintaining approximately 6,600 kilometres of track and relate ...

on 21 June 1916, and is reportedly an Aboriginal word referring to an isolated mountain nearby. It was formerly known as Carbine Creek. The railway station was on the

Dajarra railway line Dajarra and Selwyn Branch Railways were lines in north-west Queensland, Australia. Along with the Mount Cuthbert and Dobbyn Branch Railways, they were essentially built to tap large deposits of copper discovered in the Cloncurry region. His ...

which connected Dajarra to

Cloncurry Cloncurry is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Cloncurry, Queensland, Australia. In the the locality of Cloncurry had a population of 2,719 people. Cloncurry is the administrative centre of the Shire of Cloncurry. Cloncurry is known as ...

via

Duchess Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranked ...

and reached Dajarra on 16 April 1917. This line was intended as part of the proposed

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

which would connect

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

through to Darwin in the

; however, the next section of the line from Dajarra towards

Camooweal Camooweal is an outback town and locality in the City of Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia. The locality is on the Queensland border with the Northern Territory. In the , the locality of Camooweal had a population of 208 people. Geography The l ...

was started but never completed. Dajarra once had importance as a

railhead In the UK, railheading refers to the practice of travelling further than necessary to reach a rail service, typically by car. The phenomenon is common among commuters seeking a more convenient journey. Reasons for railheading include, but are ...

for the cattle industry, the railway giving connection to the ports and markets of the east coast of Australia. Dajarra Post Office opened on 7 November 1919 (a

receiving office 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 ...

had been open from 1917). The older people of the area who remember Dajarra's heyday say that the area trucked more cattle than

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

in the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

. Cattle drovers on horseback would bring cattle from as far away as

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

to put them on the train at Dajarra. Dajarrra State School opened in 1920. St Martin de Porres Catholic Church was built in 1962. Competing road transport eventually captured the cattle market and Dajarra railway station closed when the line from Duchess closed on 1 January 1994. More recently, some opportunities for local employment have come with the development of the nearby Phosphate Hill phosphate mine and fertilizer production plant. The mining company has assisted the community in developing a better water supply for the town. The town has a rich Aboriginal heritage and is home to Aboriginal tribes from around the

Diamantina River The Diamantina River is a major river located in Central West Queensland and the far north of South Australia. The river was named by William Landsborough in 1866 for Lady Diamantina Bowen (née Roma), wife of Sir George Bowen, the first Govern ...

, the

Gulf of Carpentaria The Gulf of Carpentaria (, ) is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea (the body of water that lies between Australia and New Guinea). The northern boundary is ...

, and the Northern Territory. In the , there were 429 people living in Dajarra and the surrounding area. In the , the locality of Dajarra had a population of 191 people; 60.3% of the population are Indigenous.

Education

Dajarra State School is a government primary (Early Childhood-6) school for boys and girls at Matheson Street (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 27 students with 4 teachers and 5 non-teaching staff (3 full-time equivalent). An Aboriginal language is taught at the school, along with how to make

boomerang A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning b ...

s, what wood to use and what timber is best for

didgeridoo The didgeridoo (; also spelt didjeridu, among other variants) is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgeridoo was developed by ...

s. The children are also taught where to find

bush food Bush tucker, also called bush food, is any food native to Australia and used as sustenance by Indigenous Australians, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, but it can also describe any native flora or fauna used for culinary or ...

s and the 'bush lollies' on the gidyea trees after rain, and other traditional foods.

References

External links

Town map of Dajarra, 1980
{{authority control Towns in Queensland North West Queensland Shire of Cloncurry Localities in Queensland