Mungallala 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
Maranoa Region
Maranoa Region is a local government area in South West Queensland, Australia. The town of Roma is the administrative headquarters of the region.
History
The Gunggari language region of South West Queensland includes the landscape within the l ...
,
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 Mungallala had a population of 136 people.
Geography
The town is in South West Queensland
South West Queensland is a remote region in the Australian state of Queensland which covers . The region lies to the south of Central West Queensland and west of the Darling Downs and includes the Maranoa district and parts of the Channel Countr ...
, 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 west of the regional centre of Roma
Roma or ROMA may refer to:
Places Australia
* Roma, Queensland, a town
** Roma Airport
** Roma Courthouse
** Electoral district of Roma, defunct
** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council
*Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
.
The Warrego Highway
The Warrego Highway is located in southern Queensland, Australia. It connects coastal centres to the south western areas of the state, and is approximately 715 km in length. It takes its name from the Warrego River, which is the endpoint ...
passes from east ( Womalilla) to west ( Morven) through the locality, passing through the town which is in the eastern part of the locality. The Western railway line also passes from east to west through the locality, roughly parallel and to the south of the highway. The town is served by the Mungallala railway station, south-west of the town ().
The former locality of Dulvadilla/Dulbydilla is within the locality of Mundallala. Dulbydilla railway siding remains on the western railway line in the west of the locality at .
The town consists of only a few streets.
History
The name ''Mungallala'' derives from a pastoral run and comes from the Kunggari language with from ''mungar / kungar'' meaning ''bird'' and ''yaya / lala'' meaning ''shout'', implying the sound made by the claws of running emu
The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the genus ''Dromaius''. The emu' ...
s. The name Dulbydilla derives from the Aboriginal words, meaning ''black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
'' and meaning ''waterhole
A waterhole is a depression in the ground in which water can collect, or a more permanent pool in the bed of an ephemeral river.
Waterhole or water hole may refer to:
* Water hole (radio), an especially quiet region of the electromagnetic spect ...
'', referring to the discolouration of the water caused by eucalypt
Eucalypt is a descriptive name for woody plants with capsule fruiting bodies belonging to seven closely related genera (of the tribe Eucalypteae) found across Australasia:
''Eucalyptus'', '' Corymbia'', '' Angophora'', ''Stockwellia'', ''Allosyn ...
leaves.
The town was on the Cobb & Co
Cobb & Co was the name used by many successful sometimes quite independent Australian coaching businesses. The first was established in 1853 by American Freeman Cobb and his partners. The name Cobb & Co grew to great prominence in the late 19th ...
stagecoach route from Roma
Roma or ROMA may refer to:
Places Australia
* Roma, Queensland, a town
** Roma Airport
** Roma Courthouse
** Electoral district of Roma, defunct
** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council
*Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
to Charleville Charleville can refer to:
Australia
* Charleville, Queensland, a town in Australia
**Charleville railway station, Queensland
France
* Charleville, Marne, a commune in Marne, France
*Charleville-Mézières, a commune in Ardennes, France
** C ...
; The coach traveled the twice weekly, and they staged at Womalilla Downs, Burenda Downs and Dulbydilla. Mungallala may also have been a "changing station". The coach drivers included Austin Brumfield, J. Coyle, Tom Merritt, Jim Burstall, Bob Martin and Luke O'Malley. The route was mail service number 15 (Mitchell-Roma) and 16 (Mitchell -Charleville), and ran bi-weekly to 1881, thrice-weekly. In August 1886, the Number 16 route was shortened to Dulbydilla. From March 1887, the coach began at Morven. On 29 February 1888, the Western railway line reached Charleville, seeing the end of the Cobb & Co mail runs through Mungallala.
Dulbydilla Post Office operated from 1886 to 1887, after which a receiving office operated from 1887 to 1924. A telephone office operated from 1953 to 1956.
Mungallala Post Office opened by May 1911 (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 1887).
Mungallala Provisional School opened on 5 September 1904. It became Mungallala State School on 1 January 1909.
St John's Anglican church was dedicated on 18 September 1914 by the Venerable Arthur Rivers
Arthur Richard Rivers (1857–1940) was Dean of Hobart from 1920 to 1940.
Early life
Rivers was born in Teignmouth and educated at St John's College, Oxford. His younger brother was Richard Godfrey Rivers, an artist and gallery curator.
...
. It was a timber church able to seat 50 people located south of the railway station (approx ). In 1962, it was relocated to Charleville Street in the town centre (). The church's closure on 5 April 2006 was approved by Archdeacon of The West, G.F. Harch.
Sacred Heart Catholic Church was officially opened and blessed by Archbishop
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
James Duhig
Sir James Duhig KCMG (2 September 187110 April 1965) was an Irish-born Australian Roman Catholic religious leader. He was the Archbishop of Brisbane for 48 years from 1917 until his death in 1965. At the time of his death he was the longest-ser ...
on Sunday 8 July 1923. It has since been demolished.
Mungallala Methodist Church was built in 1964. It has now closed.
In 2016, the Australian Taxation Office
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is an Australian statutory agency and the principal revenue collection body for the Australian Government. The ATO has responsibility for administering the Australian federal taxation system, superannuati ...
listed Mungallala as having the lowest mean taxable income by postcode, making it the poorest town in Australia, which led the ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
to do a documentary on the town for their online "storyhunters" program.
In the , the locality of Mungallala had a population of 136 people.
Education
Mungallala State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 24 Redford Street (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 6 students with 2 teachers (1 full-time equivalent) and 4 non-teaching staff (2 full-time equivalent). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 8 students with 3 teachers (1 full-time equivalent) and 4 non-teaching staff (2 full-time equivalent).
There is no secondary school in Mungallala; the nearest one is Mitchell State School in Mitchell
Mitchell may refer to:
People
*Mitchell (surname)
*Mitchell (given name)
Places Australia
* Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate
* Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst
* Mitchell, Northern Territo ...
which offers up to Year 10. For education to Year 12, the nearest secondary schools are Roma State College in Roma
Roma or ROMA may refer to:
Places Australia
* Roma, Queensland, a town
** Roma Airport
** Roma Courthouse
** Electoral district of Roma, defunct
** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council
*Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
and Charleville State High School in Charleville Charleville can refer to:
Australia
* Charleville, Queensland, a town in Australia
**Charleville railway station, Queensland
France
* Charleville, Marne, a commune in Marne, France
*Charleville-Mézières, a commune in Ardennes, France
** C ...
.
Facilities
The Maranoa Regional Council operates a public library in Mungallala in Redford Street
There are 2 free caravan parks in town, and a recreation centre where several events are held each year for local residents and visitors. There are 2 tennis courts and a 4-hole golf course, constantly being mowed by a group of eastern grey kangaroos.
There is a pub and cafe, where internet connectivity (powered through the National Broadband Network
The National Broadband Network (NBN) is an Australian national wholesale open-access data network. It includes wired and radio communication components rolled out and operated by NBN Co, a Government-owned corporation. Internet service provider ...
) is available. The cafe is also a wildlife care centre.
Other facilities in the town include:
* Mungallala Police Station ()
* Mungallala Fire Station ()
* Mungallala Monumental Cemetery ()
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
{{authority control
Towns in Queensland
Localities in Queensland
Maranoa Region