Wallumbilla 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,

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 Wallumbilla had a population of 388 people, with 191 people living in the town itself.

Geography

Wallumbilla is situated on the Warrego Highway, five hours by road west from

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 ...

, just east 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 ...

in South West Queensland. To the north of Wallumbilla the

Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills, that runs rough ...

(in this region no more than a bumpy watershed) passes roughly ESE to NNW. The town is sandwiched between Wallumbilla & Middle Creeks as they flow south toward the Condamine/Balonne River. Wallumbilla is on the Western railway line and is served by the

Wallumbilla railway station Wallumbilla railway station is a disused station located on the Western railway line, Queensland, Western line in Queensland, Australia. It serves the town of Wallumbilla, Queensland, Wallumbilla. The station has one platform. History The st ...

().

History

The name ''Wallumbilla'' was the name of a pastoral run leased by Charles Coxen, The name is presumed to come from the indigenous

Mandandanji language Bidjara, also spelt Bidyara or Pitjara, is an Australian Aboriginal language. In 1980, it was spoken by twenty elders in Queensland between the towns of Tambo and Augathella, or the Warrego and Langlo Rivers. There are many dialects of th ...

and reportedly means ''wallu=plenty'' and ''billa=jew fish''. Wallumbilla Provisional School opened on 25 October 1893, becoming Wallumbilla State School on 1 September 1894. From January 1964, secondary schooling was offered in the Memorial Hall opposite the school, until it became possible to accommodate the secondary students on the school site from April 1965. A swimming pool was added to the school in 1981. On Saturday 17 May 1929, the Wallumbilla School of Arts Memorial Hall was officially opened by

Godfrey Morgan ''Godfrey Morgan: A Californian Mystery'' (french: L'École des Robinsons, literally ''The School for Robinsons''), also published as ''School for Crusoes'', is an 1882 adventure novel by French writer Jules Verne. The novel tells of a wealthy y ...

, the local Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Murilla. On 1 December 1956, The Westlander collided head-on with the Western Mail which was stationary at Wallumbilla railway station. The crash killed 5 people and injured 11 or 13 people. There is a memorial at the railway station commemorating the crash. At the , the town of Wallumbilla had a population of 285. In the , the locality of Wallumbilla had a population of 262 people. In the , the locality of Wallumbilla had a population of 388 people, with 191 people living in the town itself. In 2017, a combined Rural Fire station and SES facility was built.

Heritage listings

Wallumbilla 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: * George Street (): Nostalgic Queen's Theatre

Economy

Traditionally Wallumbilla's main industries were dairy and beef cattle, now the main industries are cropping and beef cattle. The main crops include sorghum and wheat. Locals believe that if not for the discovery of gas at nearby hub Roma, Wallumbilla would have flourished into a similar hub, as the discovery of gas in 1908 near Roma preluded the Wallumbilla cattle sale yards (a thriving business according to local history) to move up to Roma, accentuating its growth. A major gas hub is in preparation for Wallumbilla, planned to start operation in 2014.

Education

Sign, Wallumbilla State School, circa 2022

Wallumbilla State School is a government primary and secondary (Prep-10) school for boys and girls at 22 High Street (). In 2016, the school had an enrolment of 106 students with 15 teachers (12 full-time equivalent) and 10 non-teaching staff (7 full-time equivalent). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 126 students with 16 teachers (12 full-time equivalent) and 13 non-teaching staff (8 full-time equivalent). Most of these students hail from properties surrounding town, as well as the high school students who attended primary school in the neighbouring towns of Jackson and

Yuleba Yuleba ( ) is a rural town and locality in the Maranoa Region, in the south-west of Queensland, Australia. In the , Yuleba had a population of 207 people. Geography Yuleba is located 327 kilometres (203 mi) east of Charleville, 61 kilometres ( ...

. The nearest state high schools offering Years 11 and 12 of secondary school are Roma State College and St. John's College in

(40 kilometres west) and Miles State High School in

Miles The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English ...

(90 kilometres east).

Facilities

Wallumbilla Police Station is on the corner of Flinders Street and High Street (). Wallumbilla Rural Fire Station and SES Facility is a combined emergency service centre at 1-3 Russell Street (). Wallumbilla Community Clinic (sometimes called Wallumbillla Hospital) is a government health facility at 1-7 West Street (corner of Stakeyard Road, ). Wallumbilla Monumental & Lawn Cemetery is on the north-west corner of Wallumbilla North Road and Stolz Lane ().

Media

ABQ ABC Television in Brisbane comprises national programming on the ABC television network in or from Brisbane, Queensland which broadcasts on a number of channels under the ABC call sign. There is some local programming from the Brisbane studio ...

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