Gregory (formerly Gregory Downs) is an outback town and

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 Burke The Shire of Burke is a local government area in North West Queensland, Australia. The shire lies on the south coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria and abuts the border with the Northern Territory. It covers an area of , and has existed as a local ...

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 , establishe ...

, Australia. In the , the locality of Gregory had a population of 72 people.

Geography

The town is situated on the banks of the perennial Gregory River. The Gregory River was named by explorer

William Landsborough William Landsborough (21 February 1825 – 16 March 1886) was an explorer of Australia and notably he was the first explorer to complete a North-to-South crossing of Australia. He was a member of the Queensland Legislative Council. Early ...

on 19 November 1861, after explorer

Augustus Charles Gregory Sir Augustus Charles Gregory (1 August 1819 – 25 June 1905) was an English-born Australian explorer and surveyor. Between 1846 and 1858 he undertook four major expeditions. He was the first Surveyor-General of Queensland. He was appointed a ...

, the first

Surveyor General of Queensland Surveyor General of Queensland is a position originally created for the colony of Queensland, now a state of Australia. The position was the most senior surveyor within the Queensland Public Service. List of Surveyors General of Queensland S ...

. Gregory Downs is a pastoral station which breeds cattle on of native grazing land. It carries approximately 30,000

Brahman cattle The Brahman is an American breed of zebuine-taurine hybrid beef cattle. It was bred in the United States from 1885 from cattle originating in India, imported at various times from the United Kingdom, from India and from Brazil. These were mainl ...

, a breed suitable for the Gulf Country. It has an frontage to the Gregory River. It was one of the first pastoral stations established in the Gulf Country.

History

Gregory Post Office opened on 2 May 1878 and closed in 1894. The Gregory Downs pastoral station was established in 1876 by the Watson brothers (Harry F. Watson, Sidney Grandison Watson and Robert McGregor Watson) who travelled overland with approximately 900 cattle. They liked the clear running water in the Gregory River and settled at a crossing point of the river with their cattle on the western bank and their homestead on the eastern bank. In the late 1800s they built the Gregory Downs Hotel and Store near the homestead (), but eventually decided that they found the travellers too much of a nuisance and so they relocated their homestead onto the western bank of the river (). There was a coach service from the hotel to

Burketown Burketown is an isolated outback town and coastal locality in the Shire of Burke, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Burketown had a population of 238 people. It is located west of Cairns and west of Normanton on the Albert R ...

. The hotel also served as a post for the mounted police. The town had a population of 40 people in 2008. In 2013, the town was renamed from ''Gregory Downs'' to ''Gregory''. In the , the locality of Gregory had a population of 72 people.

Education

There are no schools in Gregory. The nearest government primary school is Burketown State School in neighbouring

to the north; however, Gregory is so large that the school would only be accessible to those living in the northern parts of Gregory. There are no secondary schools in Gregory, nor nearby. Other options for schooling 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 schools.

Amenities

The Gregory branch of the

Queensland Country Women's Association The Queensland Country Women's Association (QCWA) is the Queensland chapter of the Country Women's Association in Australia. The association seeks to serve the interests of women and children in rural areas in Australia through a network of loca ...

meets at various locations in the district.

Attractions

Willis Lookout is a tourist attraction (). Brodies Lookout is a tourist attraction ().

References

External links

* {{authority control Towns in Queensland North West Queensland Shire of Burke Localities in Queensland