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Ilfracombe is a rural town and locality in the
Longreach Region The Longreach Region is a local government area in Central West Queensland, Australia. Established in 2008, it superseded three previous local government areas that had existed for more than a century. It has an estimated operating budget of A ...
,
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 , the locality of Ilfracombe had a population of 259 people. Ilfracombe calls itself ''The Hub of the West''. The main industry is
sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated sh ...
rearing, mainly for
wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. A ...
.


Geography

Ilfracombe is situated on the
Landsborough Highway Landsborough Highway is a highway in western Queensland, Australia, running in the northwest–southeast direction from Morven to Cloncurry. The Landsborough Highway runs through vast tracts of land that was once occupied by William Landsborou ...
, about east of
Longreach Longreach is a town and a locality in the Longreach Region, Queensland, Australia. It is the administrative centre of the Longreach Regional Council, which was established in 2008 as a merger of the former Longreach, Ilfracombe, and Isisfo ...
, above sea level. Mount Rodney is in the north-east of the locality (). It was named in 1861 by Frederick Walker after Rodney, an Aboriginal member of Walker's expedition. It rises to . The Central Western railway line passes through the locality with a number of rail stops in the locality (from west to east): * Ilfracombe railway station, serving the town () * Dartmouth railway station, now abandoned () * Deroora railway station ()


History

Sheep stations were established in the area from 1864. The townsites of Ilfracombe and
Longreach Longreach is a town and a locality in the Longreach Region, Queensland, Australia. It is the administrative centre of the Longreach Regional Council, which was established in 2008 as a merger of the former Longreach, Ilfracombe, and Isisfo ...
were amongst resumed portions of Wellshot Station. In 1892, Wellshot was known as the biggest sheep station in the world, not because of the area it occupied but because of the number of sheep it ran; 460,000. 40,000 two-year-old wethers were sold off from the property later the same year. The Central Western railway line reached Ilfracombe in 1891 and the Post Office opened on 7 December 1891. On 1 July 1892, the town was renamed from ''Wellshot'' was renamed ''Ilfracombe'' after the coastal town of
Ilfracombe Ilfracombe ( ) is a seaside resort and civil parish on the North Devon coast, England, with a small harbour surrounded by cliffs. The parish stretches along the coast from the 'Coastguard Cottages' in Hele Bay toward the east and along the ...
in
North Devon North Devon is a local government district in Devon, England. North Devon Council is based in Barnstaple. Other towns and villages in the North Devon District include Braunton, Fremington, Ilfracombe, Instow, South Molton, Lynton and Lynmout ...
, England. Ilfracombe Provisional School opened on 3 May 1893. On 28 June 1899 it became Ilfracombe State School. On 27 December 1902, part of the Aramac Division was excised to create a new local government area Ilfracombe Division, becoming Shire of Ilfracombe in 1903. Ilfracombe was the
seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair, a chair eq ...
of the division/shire. On 15 March 2008, the Shire of Ilfracombe merged with the Shires of
Isisford Isisford is a rural town and locality in the Longreach Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Isisford had a population of 218 people. Geography The locality is in Central Western Queensland. The town of Isisford is in the ...
and
Longreach Longreach is a town and a locality in the Longreach Region, Queensland, Australia. It is the administrative centre of the Longreach Regional Council, which was established in 2008 as a merger of the former Longreach, Ilfracombe, and Isisfo ...
to form the
Longreach Region The Longreach Region is a local government area in Central West Queensland, Australia. Established in 2008, it superseded three previous local government areas that had existed for more than a century. It has an estimated operating budget of A ...
. In April 1910,
Isisford Isisford is a rural town and locality in the Longreach Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Isisford had a population of 218 people. Geography The locality is in Central Western Queensland. The town of Isisford is in the ...
became the first town in Australia to be serviced by a motorised mail delivery from Ilfracombe, a journey of . The town was much larger in the past. It once had three hotels instead of the single hotel and two general stores as at 2012. In the , the locality of Ilfracombe had a population of 259 people. 84.3% of people were born in Australia and 89.3% of people spoke only English at home. The most common response for religion was Anglican at 39.5%. Material was copied from this source, which is available under
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
.
A 1.9-metre metal sculpture of
National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
player Matt Scott, who grew up in Ilfracombe, was unveiled in the town on 24 September 2021. It was created by scrap metal artist Milynda Rogers who was commissioned by the Ilfracombe District Progress Association with the aim of inspiring the region's youth while also giving the town a focus of pride. Approximately 200 people attended the official unveiling.


Heritage listings

Ilfracombe has a number of
heritage-listed This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and man-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In many ...
sites, including: * former Beaconsfield Station Sheep Wash, Beaconsfield Station () * Langenbaker House, Mitchell Street ()


Education

Ilfracombe State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 20 McMaster Drive (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 10 students with 2 teachers (1 full-time equivalent) and 5 non-teaching staff (3 full-time equivalent). It is organised into multi-age classes. There is no secondary school in Ilfracombe. The nearest secondary schools are Longreach State High School in neighbouring
Longreach Longreach is a town and a locality in the Longreach Region, Queensland, Australia. It is the administrative centre of the Longreach Regional Council, which was established in 2008 as a merger of the former Longreach, Ilfracombe, and Isisfo ...
to west and Barcaldine State High School in neighbouring Barcaldine to the east. As some parts of the locality of Ilfracombe are a long distance by road from these schools, other options are distance education and boarding schools.


Amenities

Ilfracombe Post Office is at 20 Main Avenue. The Longreach Regional Council operates a public library at the post office using the Rural Libraries Queensland service. The library offers public access to
Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network Communication protocol, protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital d ...
. Other attractions and facilities in the town include swimming pool, a 14-hole golf course, racecourse and caravan park.


Attractions

The Great Machinery Mile is an open-air display of a range of antique agricultural machinery from the local area spread alongside the Landsborough Highway within the town (). It is part of the Ilfracombe Machinery and Heritage Museum. Guided tours are available of the heritage-listed Langenbacker House in Mitchell Street ().


Notable people

Notable people from the area include: *
Quentin Bryce Dame Quentin Alice Louise Bryce, (née Strachan; born 23 December 1942) is an Australian academic who served as the 25th governor-general of Australia from 2008 to 2014. She is the first woman to have held the position, and was previously the ...
,
Governor of Queensland The governor of Queensland is the representative in the state of Queensland of the monarch of Australia. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governor performs constitutional and ceremonial functi ...
and
Governor-General of Australia The governor-general of Australia is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in Australia. * Matthew Scott,
rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
footballer, * Paul Wilson (meditation teacher), author of the international best selling ''The Little Book of Calm'' and the ''Calm'' series of books,


References


External links

* * {{authority control Towns in Queensland Longreach Region Populated places established in 1891 1891 establishments in Australia Localities in Queensland