Augathella 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

Shire of Murweh The Shire of Murweh is a local government area in the Maranoa district, which is part of South West Queensland, Australia. The administrative centre and largest town in the shire is Charleville. In June 2018, the Shire of Murweh had a populati ...

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.

Geography

Augathella lies on the Matilda Highway, is north of the town of

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 ** ...

, west of Roma and west of

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 ...

(Queensland's capital). The town lies on the banks of the Warrego River. Grazing is still the predominant industry of the area.

History

''Bidjara'' (also known as ''Bidyara, Pitjara,'' and ''Peechara'') is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken by the Bidjara people. The Bidjara language region includes the local government areas of the

, particularly the towns of

, Augathella and

Blackall Blackall is a rural town and locality in the Blackall-Tambo Region, Queensland, Australia. In the the locality of Blackall had a population of 1,416 people. The town is the service centre for the Blackall-Tambo Region. The dominant industry ...

as well as the properties of Nive Downs and

Mount Tabor Mount Tabor ( he, הר תבור) (Har Tavor) is located in Lower Galilee, Israel, at the eastern end of the Jezreel Valley, west of the Sea of Galilee. In the Hebrew Bible (Joshua, Judges), Mount Tabor is the site of the Battle of Mount Tabo ...

. '' Gungabula'' (also known as ''Kongabula'' and ''Khungabula'') is an Australian Aboriginal language of the headwaters of the Dawson River in

Central Queensland Central Queensland is an ambiguous geographical division of Queensland ( a state in Australia) that centres on the eastern coast, around the Tropic of Capricorn. Its major regional centre is Rockhampton. The region extends from the Capricorn Coas ...

. The language region includes areas within the local government area of

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 ...

, particularly the towns of

, Augathella and

and as well as the

Carnarvon Range The Carnarvon Range is a mountain range in Central Queensland, Australia. It is a plateau section of the Great Dividing Range. The Carnarvon Range is 160 km in length. Geography North eastern parts of the range have formed a plateau kno ...

. Gunya (Kunya, Kunja, Kurnja) is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken by the Gunya people. The Gunya language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the

Paroo Shire Council The Shire of Paroo is a local government area in South West Queensland, Australia. The administrative centre is the town of Cunnamulla. The Paroo Shire covers an area of . In the , the Shire had a population of 1,679. The region incorporates t ...

, taking in Cunnamulla and extending north towards Augathella, east towards Bollon and west towards

Thargomindah Thargomindah (frequently shortened to Thargo) is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Bulloo, Queensland, Australia. The town of Thargomindah is the administrative centre for the Shire of Bulloo. In the , Thargomindah had a population o ...

. The town, built up gradually over what was Kunja tribal territory, came into being initially as a resting place for bullock teams lying at the convergence of three bullock tracks from Morven, Tambo, and

. Originally called Burenda it was renamed Ellangowan (still the name of the local watering hole) and when gazetted in 1883 called Augathella. This is apparently an

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

word meaning "camp on a waterhole", referring the Warrego River. A service centre sprang up to service their needs and the needs of the burgeoning grazing industry. Burenda Post Office opened on 1 September 1869. It was renamed Ellangowan in 1877 and Augathella in 1883. Augathella Provisional School opened on 1 January 1884. On 7 August 1893 it became Augathella State School. On Sunday 10 July 1892 St Luke's Anglican church was officially opened by

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

Nathaniel Dawes. A new church was built at a cost of £8300 and dedicated in 1957. On 1 October 1928 Rev W.C. Radcliffe officially opened the Augathella Presbyterian Church. The 1956 film

Smiley A smiley, sometimes referred to as a smiley face, is a basic ideogram that represents a smiling face. Since the 1950s it has become part of popular culture worldwide, used either as a standalone ideogram, or as a form of communication, such a ...

was based on Moore Raymond's novel of the same name, which was set in a fictionalised version of Augathella. The town's service centre was bypassed by the new Matilda Highway during the 1980s. Some new businesses have slowly encroached back onto the highway frontage. Augathella and the surrounding district suffered extensive flood damage in 1990 when the Warrego River burst its banks and flooded the town. The Augathella Library opened in 2000. At the , Augathella had a population of 395. Augathella Cosmos Meatant Country

Since 2011 the entrance the town has been marked by 4.5m steel and copper giant sculpture of a

meat ant The meat ant (''Iridomyrmex purpureus''), also known as the gravel ant or southern meat ant, is a species of ant endemic to Australia. A member of the genus ''Iridomyrmex'' in the subfamily Dolichoderinae, it was described by British entomolo ...

- in a reference to its former junior football team, named the "Mighty Meat Ants". In the , Augathella had a population of 449 people.

Heritage listings

There are a number of heritage-listed sites in Augathella, including: Within the town: * Annie Street: Catholic Church * Annie Street: Catholic School * Cavanagh Street: Hospital * Cavanagh Street: Queensland Country Women's Association * Elmes Street: Rodeo Grounds * Forest Street: Augathella Water Tower * Jane Street (corner of Cavanagh Street): Kenniff Tree * Main Street: Arts and Craft Centre (former Helton's Building) * Main Street: Butcher shop * Main Street: Police station * Main Street: Post office * Main Street: Town hall * Main Street: War Memorial Hill * Main & Annie Streets: Ellangowan Hotel * 61 Main Street: St Luke's Anglican Church * Nelson Street: Old Water Tower * off Russell Street: Cemetery * off West Street: Augathella Race Course Within the locality: * Carnarvon Station: Fig Tree Spring Stockyards * Dooloogarah Carnarvon National Park Road: Ralph's Bore & Upper Warrego Police Barracks site * Mount Tabor: Dingo Fence Section

Education

Augathella State School
is a government primary (Early Childhood-6) school for boys and girls at Cavanagh Street (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 44 students with 4 teachers and 4 non-teaching staff (3 full-time equivalent). Augathella State School is part of Education Queensland's Charleville Cluster and is supported by the Darling Downs South West regional team which is based in

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 ...

. There is no secondary school in Augathella. School Bus Route S279 conveys students from Year 7 to Year 12 into

to atten
Charleville State High School

Amenities

The Murweh Shire Council operates the Augathella Library on Main Street, Augathella. The Augathella Library has a high-speed Internet Connection (powered by 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 provide ...

) The Augathella branch of the

Queensland Country Women's Association The Queensland Country Women's Association (QCWA) is the Queensland chapter of the Country Women's Association in Australia. The association seeks to serve the interests of women and children in rural areas in Australia through a network of loca ...

has its rooms at 101 Cavanagh Street. St Luke's Anglican Church is at 61 Main Street () and holds services on the 2nd Sunday of each month. There is a growing arts centre in the town, public swimming pool, a bowls club, and

polocrosse Polocrosse is a team sport that is a combination of polo and lacrosse. It is played outside, on a field (the pitch), on horseback. Each rider uses a cane or fibreglass stick to which is attached a racquet head with a loose, thread net, in whi ...

teams.

Events

There is an annual rodeo. There is also a Christmas Celebration in Meat Ant Park every December

Media

Augathella is serviced by: * Radio 4VL (Resonate Radio) - 106.1 FM The

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

transmits ABC Television and its sister channels ABC Kids/

ABC TV Plus ABC TV Plus (formerly ABC2 and ABC Comedy) is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and part of its ABC Television network. The channel broadcasts a range of general entertainment pr ...

ABC Me ABC Me (stylised as ABC ME) is an Australian English language children's free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was officially launched by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on 4 December 2009 as ABC3. Hist ...

and

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

to Augathella through its relay station, ABAAQ at 25°48′23″S 146°35′21″E (old Charleville - Augathella Road) The

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australia ...

and its sister stations 7two and

7mate 7mate is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, which was launched by the Seven Network on 25 September 2010. The channel contains sport and regular programs aimed primarily to a male audience, with programming drawn from a c ...

transmit to Augathella through its regional area affiliate, ITQ The Nine Network and its sister channels

9Gem 9Gem is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, launched by the Nine Network in September 2010. The channel provides general entertainment and movie programming, from which the original name "GEM" is derived. History Nine N ...

9Go! 9Go! is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, which was launched by the Nine Network on 9 August 2009, replacing Nine Guide. It is a youthful channel that offers a mix of comedy, reality, general entertainment, movies, ani ...

and transmit to Augathella through its regional area affiliate,

Imparja Television Imparja Television (IMP) is an independent Australian television station servicing over , across six states and territories: Northern Territory, South Australia, Tasmania, Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. It is based in Alice Spring ...

Network Ten and its sister channels

10 Bold 10 Bold is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel owned by Network 10. It originally launched on 26 March 2009 as One HD with a focus on broadcasting sports-based programming and events, but rebranded to One in April 2011 to ...

, 10 Peach and transmit to Augathella through its regional area affiliate, CDT The

Special Broadcasting Service The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is an Australian hybrid-funded public service broadcaster. About 80 percent of funding for the company is derived from the Australian Government. SBS operates six TV channels ( SBS, SBS Viceland, SBS World ...

and its sister channels

SBS Viceland SBS Viceland (stylised as SBS VICELAND) is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). It began as SBS TWO on 1 June 2009, and was branded as SBS 2 between 2013 and 2016. On 8 April 2017, SBS ...

SBS World Movies SBS World Movies is an Australian free-to-air television channel showing international movies. The channel features foreign language films, documentaries, independent and mainstream cinema and interviews with international movie stars. It w ...

and

SBS Food SBS Food is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). The channel airs programs about food and cooking, from cultures around the world. History SBS first revealed it would laun ...

also transmit to Augathella

Attractions

Augathella is the permanent home of the Q150 Shed that travelled around the state in 2009 as part of the Q150 Celebrations providing each community it visited a night of entertainment. Communities toured included: Mount Isa, Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Rockhampton, Maryborough, Blackall, Augathella, Cherbourg, Warwick, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

Transport

Augathella is situated on the junction of the

Landsborough Highway Landsborough Highway is a highway in western Queensland, Australia, running in the northwest–southeast direction from Morven to Cloncurry. The Landsborough Highway runs through vast tracts of land that was once occupied by William Landsborou ...

from Morven and the

Mitchell Highway Mitchell Highway is an outback state highway located in the central and south western regions of Queensland and the northern and central western regions of New South Wales in Australia. The southern part of the Mitchell Highway forms part ...

from

. Augathella is served by

Greyhound Australia Greyhound Australia is an Australian coach operator that ran services in all mainland states and territories until reduction of services in the 2000s. It is owned by KordaMentha (85%) and the Chapman Group (15%). The company was established ...

who operates Gx493 between

and

Mount Isa Mount Isa ( ) is a city in the Gulf Country region of Queensland, Australia. It came into existence because of the vast mineral deposits found in the area. Mount Isa Mines (MIM) is one of the most productive single mines in world history, base ...

and its return service, Gx494 which stops at the BP Roadhouse on the Highway Augathella Aerodrome has a sealed runway, . It is operated by Murweh Shire Council.

In popular culture

Augathella is the destination of cattle drovers in the Australian folk song Brisbane Ladies. This song is alternately called "Augathella Station".

References

External links

University of Queensland: Queensland Places: Augathella
{{authority control Towns in Queensland South West Queensland Shire of Murweh Localities in Queensland