Kynuna is an

outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass a n ...

town in the Shire of McKinlay 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 ...

split between the Shire of McKinlay and the

Shire of Winton The Shire of Winton is a local government area in Central West Queensland, Australia. It covers an area of , and has existed as a local government entity since 1887. Its administrative centre is located in the town of Winton. It is named aft ...

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 Kynuna had a population of 55 people.

Geography

Kynuna is on the banks of 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 town is located on the

Landsborough Highway Landsborough Highway is a highway in western Queensland, Australia, running in the northwest–southeast direction from Morven, Queensland, Morven to Cloncurry, Queensland, Cloncurry. The Landsborough Highway runs through vast tracts of land th ...

, north 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 south east of the regional centre 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 ...

. The

Richmond–Winton Road Richmond–Winton Road is a continuous road route in the Richmond and Winton local government areas of Queensland, Australia. It is a state-controlled district road (number 5803) rated as a local road of regional significance (LRRS). It is p ...

follows a section of the south-eastern boundary. Kynuna lies at the northern rim of a roughly circular zone measuring some 130 km across that has been identified by

Geoscience Australia Geoscience Australia is an agency of the Australian Government. It carries out geoscientific research. The agency is the government's technical adviser on all aspects of geoscience, and custodian of the geographic and geological data and knowl ...

as a crustal anomaly. Proof is currently lacking as to the cause, but it is believed likely that the anomaly was caused by an asteroid strike that happened about 300 million years ago.

History

The

Wanamara The Wanamara (Wunumara) were an indigenous Australian people of the state of Queensland. Country The Wanamara's tribal lands extended over, in Norman Tindale's calculations, some from the headwaters of the Flinders River, eastwards as far as Ric ...

lands ran from the north as far as Kynuna. '' Wanamarra'' (also known as ''Maykulan'' and ''Wunumura'') is an

Australian Aboriginal language The Indigenous languages of Australia number in the hundreds, the precise number being quite uncertain, although there is a range of estimates from a minimum of around 250 (using the technical definition of 'language' as non-mutually intellig ...

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 ...

. The language region includes areas within the Shire of McKinlay,

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 ...

and

Shire of Richmond The Shire of Richmond is a local government area in north western Queensland, Australia. It covers an area of , and has existed as a local government entity since 1916. It is part of the Gulf Country. History '' Wanamarra'' (also known as ...

, including the

Flinders River The Flinders River is the longest river in Queensland, Australia, at approximately . It was named in honour of the explorer Matthew Flinders. The catchment is sparsely populated and mostly undeveloped. The Flinders rises on the western slopes ...

area, and the towns of Kynuna and

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

. The town was established as a shearer's union camp at a supply point for the nearby

Kynuna Kynuna is an outback town in the Shire of McKinlay and a locality split between the Shire of McKinlay and the Shire of Winton in Queensland, Australia. In the the locality of Kynuna had a population of 55 people. Geography Kynuna is on the ban ...

pastoral station A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music (pastorale) that depicts ...

, at a place where five roads met the Diamantina River. The town was gazetted in 1894 and at one stage soon after had a population of around 700 people and was home to three pubs. Local legend claims that the suicide of a local shearer named Samuel Hoffmeister at Combo Waterhole near Kynuna in 1894 was the inspiration for the

Banjo Paterson Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson, (17 February 18645 February 1941) was an Australian bush poet, journalist and author. He wrote many ballads and poems about Australian life, focusing particularly on the rural and outback areas, including the ...

song "

Waltzing Matilda "Waltzing Matilda" is a song developed in the Australian style of poetry and folk music called a bush ballad. It has been described as the country's "unofficial national anthem". The title was Australian slang for travelling on foot (waltzing) ...

". Paterson was at one time engaged to Sarah Riley, the daughter of a local

squatter Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

, and visited the area. Kynuna Post Office opened on 1 May 1883 (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 1882) and closed in 1990. Kynuna Provisional School opened on 12 June 1899. On 1 January 1909 it became Kynuna State School. It closed in 1992. At the

2006 census 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

, Kynuna had a population of 95. In the the locality of Kynuna had a population of 55 people.

Education

There are no schools in Kynuna. The nearest primary school is Julia Creek State School in neighbouring Julia Creek to the north. There are no secondary schools nearby.

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 are the options.

Amenities

Today, the town has one pub, the Blue Heeler Hotel. The pub was built as the Kynuna Hotel in 1889.

References

External links

* {{cite web, url=https://gisservices.information.qld.gov.au/arcgis/rest/directories/historicalscans/cad_scans/cad-map-town-kynuna-1976.jpg, title=Town map of Kynuna, date=1976, publisher=

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy was formed in 1859 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended fr ...

Towns in Queensland Shire of Mckinlay Shire of Winton Localities in Queensland