Porcupine is 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 ...

in the Shire of Finders,

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 , Porcupine had a population of 49 people.

Geography

The drainage divide created by the Great Dividing Range runs from north to south near the eastern boundary of the locality. As a consequence, the terrain in the locality is mountainous with peaks (from north to south) including Mount King , Mount Mistake , Mount Dick , Mount Cracknell , Mount Bradshaw , Mount James , Mount Emu , Mount Pleasant , Mount Oxley , Mount Sturgeon , Bald Hill , Mount Pleasant (again) , Mount Wongalee , and Mount Canterbury . Numerous creeks rise in this area flowing into valleys west towards inland Queensland where they eventually become tributaries of 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 o ...

which flows through the Gulf Country to the Gulf of Carpentaria. In contrast, the South Gregory River rises to the east of the divide and flows eventually into the

Burdekin River The Burdekin River is a river located in North and Far North Queensland, Australia. The river rises on the northern slopes of Boulder Mountain at Valley of Lagoons, part of the western slope of the Seaview Range, and flows into the Coral Sea a ...

which enters the Coral Sea at Upstart Bay, east of

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire Subdivisions of Scotland, council area and the historic Shires of Scotlan ...

. The

Kennedy Developmental Road The Kennedy Highway is a highway in northern Queensland, Australia. It runs as National Route 1 for approximately 243 km from Smithfield, on the northern outskirts of Cairns, to the Gulf Developmental Road in the vicinity of Forty Mile S ...

runs from north to south through the locality. Some small areas of the locality are part of a number of national parks including Porcupine Gorge National Park (which protects the Porcupine Gorge created by Porcupine Creek, entirely within the southern part of the locality),

White Mountains National Park White Mountains is a national park in Queensland, Australia, 1156 km northwest of Brisbane, and 140 km south-west of Charters Towers Charters Towers is a rural town in the Charters Towers Region, Queensland, Australia. It is by r ...

(extending south-east into

Torrens Creek Torrens Creek is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Flinders, Queensland, Australia. In the the locality of Torrens Creek had a population of 70 people. Geography The town is on the Flinders Highway, north-west of the state capital, ...

) and

Blackbraes National Park Blackbraes is a national park in Shire of Etheridge of Far North Queensland, Australia. Geography The park is 1265 km northwest of Brisbane, 170 km north of Hughenden, and 280 km west of Townsville. Two small sections are also ...

(extending north into Lyndhurst).

History

The locality was named and bounded on 23 February 2001. The name is believed to derive from the appearance of the spiky leaves of the spinifex bushes in the area. In particular the '' Triodia scariosa'' is commonly known in Australia as ' porcupine grass '.

Education

There are no schools in Porcupine, but neighbouring

Hughenden Hughenden may refer to: *Hughenden, Queensland, a town in Australia *Hughenden, Alberta, a village in central Alberta, Canada *Hughenden Valley Hughenden Valley (formerly called Hughenden or Hitchendon) is an extensive village and civil parish in ...

has both primary and secondary schools.

References

External links

{{Shire of Flinders (Queensland) Shire of Flinders (Queensland) Localities in Queensland