Boulia () is an

outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass a ...

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 Boulia The Shire of Boulia is a local government area in Central West Queensland, bordering the Northern Territory. Its administrative centre is in the town of Boulia.It covers an area of , and has existed as a local government entity since 1887. The m ...

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 , Boulia had a population of 301 people. Boulia is the administrative centre of the Boulia Shire, population approximately 600, which covers an area of . The area is best known for sightings of the

Min Min light Min Min is a light phenomenon that has often been reported in outback Australia. History Stories about the lights can be found in several Aboriginal Australian cultures predating the European colonisation of Australia, and have since becom ...

s, mysterious shimmering lights that appear at night. The lights are said to be caused by atmospheric refraction that occurs when cold air is trapped below warmer air, a phenomenon known as Fata Morgana.

Geography

Boulia is in the

Central West Queensland Central West Queensland is a remote region in the Australian state of Queensland which covers 396,650.2 km2. The region lies to the north of South West Queensland and south of the Gulf Country. It has a population of approximately 12,387 peo ...

and is located approximately by road south of

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 ...

. Boulia is at the crossroads of a number of outback routes, including the

Boulia Mount Isa Road Boulia () is an outback town and locality in the Shire of Boulia, Queensland, Australia. In the , Boulia had a population of 301 people. Boulia is the administrative centre of the Boulia Shire, population approximately 600, which covers an are ...

(which goes north-west towards

), the Selwyn Road (which goes north-east to Selwyn), the

Winton Road Winton may refer to: Places Australia *Winton, Queensland, a town *Shire of Winton, Queensland *Winton, Victoria, a town *Winton Motor Raceway in Winton, Victoria New Zealand *Winton, New Zealand, a town in Southland United Kingdom *Winton, an ar ...

, which goes east toward Winton), and the

Boulia Bedourie Road The Diamantina Developmental Road is a gazetted road in Queensland, Australia, that runs from Charleville in the south-central part of the state to Mount Isa in the north-west. Route description The road passes through the towns of Quilpi ...

(which goes south-west to Bedourie). The

Donohue Highway The Donohue Highway is a mostly unpaved outback track that leads through the northern foothills of the Simpson Desert in Queensland to Tobermorey Homestead, Northern Territory near the Northern Territory/Queensland border in Australia. The roa ...

coming from the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

joins the Boulia Mount Isa Road just outside of Boulia, which together with the Winton Road forms part of the

Outback Way The Outback Highway or Outback Way is a series of roads and dirt tracks linking Laverton, Western Australia and Winton, Queensland. At , it crosses Central Australia (colloquially known as the Outback), passing through Western Australia, the N ...

billed as "Australia's Longest Shortcut", a gravel-and-bitumen road which runs between Laverton in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to t ...

and Winton in Queensland. Boulia is in the

Channel Country The Channel Country is a region of outback Australia mostly in the state of Queensland but also in parts of South Australia, Northern Territory and New South Wales. The name comes from the numerous intertwined rivulets that cross the region, ...

. All watercourses in this area are part of the Lake Eyre drainage basin, and most will dry up before their water reaches

Lake Eyre Lake Eyre ( ), officially known as Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre, is an endorheic lake in east-central Far North South Australia, some north of Adelaide. The shallow lake is the depocentre of the vast endorheic Lake Eyre basin, and contains ...

. Boulia lies on the Burke River, which was named after the explorer

Robert O'Hara Burke Robert O'Hara Burke (6 May 1821c. 28 June 1861) was an Irish soldier and police officer who achieved fame as an Australian explorer. He was the leader of the ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition, which was the first expedition to cross Australi ...

who passed through the area with the

Burke and Wills expedition The Burke and Wills expedition was organised by the Royal Society of Victoria in Australia in 1860–61. It consisted of 19 men led by Robert O'Hara Burke and William John Wills, with the objective of crossing Australia from Melbourne in the ...

in 1860. The river flows from the north-east to the south-east through the locality. Although it is contrary to the locality boundary principles of the

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy was formed in 1859 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended f ...

, the locality of Boulia is an "island" entirely surrounded by the locality of Wills. Extensive grazing of

beef cattle Beef cattle are cattle raised for meat production (as distinguished from dairy cattle, used for milk production). The meat of mature or almost mature cattle is mostly known as beef. In beef production there are three main stages: cow-calf opera ...

on native vegetation is the predominant industry. Boulia is at the heart of the

of western Queensland where, during rain events, channels running between the rivers and creeks of the region fill with water and spread that water over expansive areas. When it does rain heavily, the

Mitchell grass ''Astrebla'' is a small genus of xerophytic (adapted to survive in an environment with little liquid water) grasses found only in Australia. They are the dominant grass across much of the continent. They are commonly known as Mitchell grass aft ...

plains respond magnificently and result in the Channel country around Boulia, being among the finest beef producing country in Australia. The town has a grid layout with 6 roads running east–west and 5 running north–south. Herbert Street is the main street where most of the civic and commercial premises are located.

History

StateLibQld 1 142863 Post Office at Boulia, Queensland, ca

The town was named by surveyor Frederick Arthur Hartnell in 1882 and was derived from the name of the waterhole near the township called "bool-yo" in the

Pitta Pitta language Pitta Pitta (also known under several other spellings) is an extinct Australian Aboriginal language. It was spoken around Boulia, Queensland. Pituri The name ''pituri'' for the leaves chewed as a stimulant by traditional Aboriginal people has ...

. The township was gazetted in 1879. Boulia Post Office opened on 1 July 1879. Boulia Provisional School opened on 7 October 1889. It became Boulia State School on 1 January 1909. The Good Shepherd Catholic Church was built in 1955. In the , the town of Boulia had a population of 205. At the , the locality of Boulia had a population of 230, In the , the locality of Boulia had a population of 301 people. In 2019, the Boulia Outback Chapel was established in the former Anglican church building. It is part of the Baptist Church.

Climate

Boulia experiences a

hot desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

( Köppen: ''BWh'', Trewartha: ''BWhl''); with very hot summers with occasional rains; warm to hot, dry springs and autumns; and mild, dry winters. Daytime temperatures are very hot, having over 200 afternoons on an average year over . Although even in June and July the average maximum is a warm to very warm ,

frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor in an above-freezing atmosphere coming in contact with a solid surface whose temperature is below freezing, and resulting in a phase change from water vapor (a g ...

s are not unknown in the morning during these months, but do not occur in most years. Annual rainfall is extraordinarily erratic: it has been as low as in 1905 and in 1963. However, when the monsoon is strong rainfall can be heavy: in January 1974 Boulia received of rain, in March 1887 , and in March 1950 . Maximum annual rainfall totals are in 1950 and in 1974, but the

median In statistics and probability theory, the median is the value separating the higher half from the lower half of a data sample, a population, or a probability distribution. For a data set, it may be thought of as "the middle" value. The basic f ...

annual rainfall is only .

Bureau of Meteorology The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM or BoM) is an executive agency of the Australian Government responsible for providing weather services to Australia and surrounding areas. It was established in 1906 under the Meteorology Act, and brought together ...

Events

The town hosts the Boulia Camel Races, the longest camel race (running a 1500m cup final) on the Australian

camel racing Camel racing is a popular sport in Western Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Pakistan, Mongolia and Australia. Professional camel racing, like horse racing, is an event for betting and tourist attraction. Camels can run at speeds ...

circuit. Each year at Easter, the Boulia Racecourse reserve plays host to a rodeo, campdrafting, and horse racing event which is a social highlight for the district. During August drag races are held at the Boulia Airport which attracts an enthusiastic crowd.

Facilities

Boulia has a range of public facilities open to the community. These include a public library, public hall, sports complex, racecourse, the Min Min encounter tourist centre, museum, visitor information centre, and camel races. The Boulia Shire Council operates a public library at 18 Burke Street. An 18-hole golf course with sand greens is located on the Boulia Winton Road. Greens fees are not charged for the use of this course and a clubhouse with bar facilities is available. Boulia has Australia's first

three-dimensional Three-dimensional space (also: 3D space, 3-space or, rarely, tri-dimensional space) is a geometric setting in which three values (called '' parameters'') are required to determine the position of an element (i.e., point). This is the inform ...

zebra crossing A zebra crossing (British English) or a marked crosswalk (American English) is a pedestrian crossing marked with white stripes (zebra markings). Normally, pedestrians are afforded precedence over vehicular traffic, although the significance of ...

which is based on an

optical illusion Within visual perception, an optical illusion (also called a visual illusion) is an illusion caused by the visual system and characterized by a visual perception, percept that arguably appears to differ from reality. Illusions come in a wide v ...

. It is to improve road safety and also to be a tourist attraction. It was introduced in 2018 after Boulia Shire Council mayor Rick Britton saw similar crossings in Iceland, Malaysia, India, New Zealand and the United States on social media. The Boulia 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 61 Moonah Street. Boulia Outback Chapel is at 49 Moonah Street (). Good Shepherd Catholic Church, Boulia, 2019

The Good Shepherd Catholic Church is at 33 Moonah Street ().

Education

Boulia State School is a government primary (Early Childhood-6) school for boys and girls at Templeton Street (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 27 students with 4 teachers and 4 non-teaching staff (3 full-time equivalent). There are no secondary schools in Boulia. The nearest secondary schools are in

and Winton, but these are too distant for a daily commute. The

Spinifex State College Spinifex State College is a public, co-educational, day and boarding school located in Mount Isa, Queensland. It first opened in 2003. History Prior to 2003 Mount Isa was serviced by two state secondary schools. Mount Isa State High School and ...

offers boarding facilities. Other boarding schools or

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 ...

would be options for secondary schooling.

Mars

The name Boulia is used as a name for a

crater Crater may refer to: Landforms * Impact crater, a depression caused by two celestial bodies impacting each other, such as a meteorite hitting a planet * Explosion crater, a hole formed in the ground produced by an explosion near or below the surf ...

on the planet

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

, specifically commemorating the town.

Heritage listings

Boulia 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 i ...

sites, including: * Pituri Street: Boulia Stone House

References

External links

Shire website

University of Queensland: Queensland Places: Boulia and Boulia Shire

Town map of Boulia, 1974
{{authority control Towns in Queensland Shire of Boulia 1879 establishments in Australia Populated places established in 1879 Localities in Queensland