Woolgar is a rural

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 Richmond The Shire of Richmond is a local government area in north western Queensland, Australia. It covers an area of , and has existed as a local government entity since 1916. It is part of the Gulf Country. History '' Wanamarra'' (also known as ...

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 Woolgar had a population of 8 people.

History

On 14 September 1881, Sub-inspector Henry Pollock Kaye of the

Native Mounted Police Australian native police units, consisting of Aboriginal troopers under the command (usually) of at least one white officer, existed in various forms in all Australian mainland colonies during the nineteenth and, in some cases, into the twentie ...

, was responding to complaints from at the Woolgar gold fields townspeople of the

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

persons stealing and other offences. Together with other police and a native trooper, he mustered the indigenous persons to remove them from the area. It was indicated there may have been up to 800 indigenous persons in the area, although only some thirty to forty to be removed. Within fifteen minutes of Sub-inspector Nichols leaving to get other officers, Kaye was fatally speared by the persons. A retaliatory

massacre A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

is believed to have occurred against the indigenous persons. Woolgar Upper Provisional School opened on 19 June 1901 and Woolgar Lower Provisional School opened on 24 June 1901, to work together as part-time schools (meaning a single teacher was shared between them). They closed in October 1903 but reopened in April 1904. Woolgar Lower Provisional School closed on 11 October 1906 while Woolgar Upper Provisional School continued as a full-time school and then closed circa 1912. In the Woolgar had a population of 8 people. The Woolgar Valley Aboriginal Corporation had previously purchased Middle Park Station, 'to provide opportunities for the

traditional owners Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have rights ...

of that area, the Woolgar people, who mostly live in

Yarrabah Yarrabah (traditionally ''Yagaljida'' in the Yidin language spoken by the indigenous Yidinji people is a coastal town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Aboriginal Shire of Yarrabah, Queensland, Australia. In the , the local ...

Hopevale Hope Vale (also known as Hopevale) is a town within the Aboriginal Shire of Hope Vale and a coastal Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality split between the Aboriginal Shire of Hope Vale and the Shire of Cook, both in Queensland, Austral ...

and

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

'. The corporation was successful in legal action for compensation payable for renewal of a mining lease.

Geography

The ''Woolgar River'' rises in the north-east and flows through to the south-west. The stream known as ''Stawell River'' or ''Cambridge Creek'' flows through from east to west. The ''Dutton River'' forms part of the southern boundary.

Road infrastructure

The

Richmond–Croydon Road Richmond–Croydon Road is a continuous road route in the Richmond, Croydon and Etheridge local government areas of Queensland, Australia. It is part of the shortest route from the / area to and . It is also part of the inland freight net ...

crosses the north-western corner.

References

{{Shire of Richmond Shire of Richmond Localities in Queensland