Mount Coolon is a rural 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

Whitsunday Region The Whitsunday Region is a local government area located in North Queensland, Australia. Established in 2008, it was preceded by two previous local government areas with a history extending back to the establishment of regional local government ...

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 Mount Coolon had a population of 64 people.

Geography

The

Suttor River The Suttor River is a river in Central Queensland, Australia. The Belyando River is its main tributary. The river has its origins in the Leichhardt Range, north west of Glenden. It flows into Lake Dalrymple, becoming a tributary of the Burdek ...

rises here. The river marks part of the eastern and all of the southern and western boundaries of Mount Coolon. The

Sellheim River Sellheim may refer to: People * Gert Sellheim, a German-Australian artist * Hugo Sellheim, a pioneering physician in the field of gynecology and obstetrics * Katharina Sellheim, born 1976, German pianist and academic * Konstantin Sellheim, born ...

forms a small section of the northern border. The landscape is dotted with many waterholes and numerous peaks belonging to the

Leichhardt Range The Leichhardt Range, part of the Great Dividing Range, is a mountain range located in North Queensland, Australia. The range runs parallel with the coast about west of Mackay and has an average elevation of . It is composed of a series of rugg ...

. Mount Coolon has the following mountains: * Beaucazon Peak () * Bulgonunna Peak () * Bungobine Peak () * Carey Guille () * Mount Carmel () * Mount Douglas () * Mount Harry Marsh () * Mount Kroman () * Mount Loudon () * Mount Manaman () * Mount Patterson () * Mount Tindale () * Norcot Peak () * Rodborough Hill () * Scartwater Hill () * The Tor () * Whitestone Peak ()

History

Mount Coolon was originally called ''Koala'', and was founded on

Yangga The Yangga, also spelt Jangga, were an Aboriginal Australian people of the state of Queensland. They are not to be confused with the Yanga people. Language Norman Tindale referred to the language as Jangga. Country According to Norman Tindale' ...

tribal lands. It was renamed after Thomas Coolon, a prospector. In 1918, following a claims dispute, Coolon shot and killed four men, then committed suicide. Koala Provisional School opened on 11 July 1921. On 1 September 1925, it became Koala State School. In 1946, it was renamed Mount Coolon State School in 1946. It closed in 1950, but reopened in 1962. It finally closed on 30 April 1971. Mount Coolon Post Office opened on 1 May 1925 (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 1922) and closed in 1984. Koala police station opened in 1925 and was renamed Mount Coolon police station in 1931. It closed in 1967. 18 police officers served at the station over its lifetime. Between 1925 and 1967 when the station closed there were 18 officers stationed at Mt Coolon. In the , the locality of Mount Coolon had a population of 567 people. In the , the locality of Mount Coolon had a population of 64 people.

Heritage listings

Mount Coolon 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: * Collinsville road (): Barclay's Battery * St Annes Road ():

Suttor River Causeway Suttor River Causeway is a heritage-listed causeway across the Suttor River on the Old Bowen Downs Road, now at St Anns Road, Mount Coolon, Whitsunday Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built in 1876 by the Queensland Department of Public ...

on the Old Bowen Downs Road

Education

There are no schools in Mount Coolon. Glenden State School in Glenden to the east is the nearest government primary and secondary school; however, the distances involved in a daily commute mean that

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 other options.

Amenities

Mount Coolon Hotel is at 1 Mill Street. It provides meals and accommodation. The former Mount Coolon State School is now the Mount Coolon Community Centre.

References

External links

* {{authority control Towns in Queensland Whitsunday Region Localities in Queensland