Moonie is a rural town in the

Western Downs Region Western Downs Region is a local government area in Queensland, Australia. The Western Downs Regional Council manages an area of , which is slightly smaller than Switzerland, although with a population of 34,467 in June 2018, it is over 228 ti ...

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 Western Downs Region and the

Goondiwindi Region The Goondiwindi Region is a local government area located in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia along the state's border with New South Wales. Established in 2008, it was preceded by three previous local government areas whic ...

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 Moonie had a population of 189 people.

Geography

The town is on the

Darling Downs The Darling Downs is a farming region on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland, Australia. The Downs are to the west of South East Queensland and are one of the major regions of Queensland. The name was general ...

at the intersection of the Leichhardt and Moonie Highways, west of the state capital,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

, and is the Official Oil Capital of Australia. The locality is split between the Western Downs Region (northern part of the locality) and the

(southern part of the locality). The

Moonie Highway The Moonie Highway is a state highway of Queensland, Australia. Part of State Route 49, it leaves the Warrego Highway at Dalby and runs for over 290 km until it reaches St George. From there, State Route 49 continues west as the Balonne Hi ...

passes through the locality from the north-east to the south-west. The

Leichhardt Highway The Leichhardt Highway is a major transport route in Queensland, Australia. It is a continuation northward from Goondiwindi of the Newell Highway, via a section of the Cunningham Highway. It runs northward from Goondiwindi for more than 600 ki ...

passes through the locality from the north to the south. The town is at the intersection of the two highways.

History

The town's name is derived from

Moonie River The Moonie River (Mooni River) is a river in Shire of Balonne, Queensland and Walgett Shire, New South Wales, both in Australia. It is a perennial river of the Barwon catchment within the Murray–Darling basin. Name The river was named '' ...

, which was first recorded as Mooni by Sir Thomas Mitchell in November 1846 when he passed through the region. Moonie State School opened on 14 May 1962. In 1973, a church building was moved from Drillham to Moonie to become Our Lady of the Way Catholic Church. Moonie Post Office opened by June 1966 closed in 1983. Moonie Library opened in 2003. In the , the locality of Moonie had a population of 189 people.

Economy

In December 1961, Moonie was the site of Australia's first commercial

oil field A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the presen ...

, a very small field consisting of less than one percent of Australia's oil and gas reserves. The oil field is still operational. The region is also an agricultural area that produces grain, beef cattle and prime lambs.

Education

Moonie State School is a government primary (Early Childhood-6) school for boys and girls at 11305 Moonie Highway (). In 2016, the school had an enrolment of 43 students with 4 teachers (3 full-time equivalent) and 5 non-teaching staff (2 full-time equivalent). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 27 students with 2 teachers and 6 non-teaching staff (3 full-time equivalent). There is no secondary school in Moonie. The nearest government secondary school is Tara Shire State School in neighbouring Tara to the north. However, unless resident in the northern parts of the locality of Moonie, the distances involved are so large 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 school would be other options.

Amenities

The town has a service station, the Moonie Sports Club, a pool and a motel. Moonie Library is on the eastern corner of the Leichhardt Highway and the Moonie Highway (). Our Lady of the Way Catholic Church is on the Moonie Highway (). It is part of the parish of St Mary of the Angels' Parish based in Tara within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Toowoomba.

References

External links

* {{authority control Towns in Queensland Towns in the Darling Downs Western Downs Region Goondiwindi Region Localities in Queensland