Mitchell, Queensland
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Mitchell 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 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 l ...
,
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. The town services the local area, a cattle and sheep farming district. In the , the locality of Mitchell had a population of 1,031 people.


Geography

Mitchell is on the
Warrego Highway The Warrego Highway is located in southern Queensland, Australia. It connects coastal centres to the south western areas of the state, and is approximately 715 km in length. It takes its name from the Warrego River, which is the endpoint ...
, west of
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 ...
, 441 kilometres (274 mi) west of
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 C ...
, 230 kilometres (143 mi) west of Miles, 89 kilometres (55 mi) west 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 ...
and 180 kilometres (112 mi) east 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 ** ...
. The
Warrego Highway The Warrego Highway is located in southern Queensland, Australia. It connects coastal centres to the south western areas of the state, and is approximately 715 km in length. It takes its name from the Warrego River, which is the endpoint ...
passes through town to form the main street, Cambridge Street. The
Maranoa River The Maranoa River, part of the Murray-Darling basin, is a river situated in South West Queensland, Australia. Course and features Formed by the confluence of the west and east branches of the river, the Maranoa River rises on the Consuelo Table ...
flows around the northern and eastern sides of the town before eventually flowing into the
Balonne River The Balonne River, part of the Murray-Darling Basin system, is a short yet significant part of the inland river group of South West Queensland, Australia. Course and features The river is a continuation of the Condamine River. After flowing th ...
. The Western railway passes through the locality, entering from the east ( Amby / Walhallow) and exiting to the west ( Womalilla). The locality is served by a number of railway stations, from west to east: * Mitchell railway station, a passenger stop in the town () * Booringa railway siding, now dismantled () * Marbango railway station, now abandoned () Mitchell Airstrip is west of the town (). Its
IATA airport code An IATA airport code, also known as an IATA location identifier, IATA station code, or simply a location identifier, is a three-character alphanumeric geocode designating many airports and metropolitan areas around the world, defined by the ...
is MTQ and its
ICAO airport code The ICAO airport code or location indicator is a four-letter code designating aerodromes around the world. These codes, as defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization and published in ICAO Document 7910: ''Location Indicators'', ...
is YMIT. It is operated by the Maranoa Regional Council and is suitable for light aircraft.


History

Before the arrival of Europeans, the Maranoa region was occupied by the Mandandanji and Gunggari Aboriginal peoples. Based on archaeological excavations in the
Mount Moffatt Mount Moffatt is a rural locality 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_n ...
area, it has been deduced that the Aboriginals had lived there for around 19,500 years. Descendants of the original peoples still live in and visit the area today.
Mandandanji The Mandandanyi are an indigenous Australian people of Queensland. Country The Mandandanji owned of tribal territory, which took in the Maranoa and Balonne rivers north of St. George. Their western extension reached as far Bollon and Wallam ...
(also known as Mandandanyi, Mandandanjdji, Kogai) is an
Australian Aboriginal language The Indigenous languages of Australia number in the hundreds, the precise number being quite uncertain, although there is a range of estimates from a minimum of around 250 (using the technical definition of 'language' as non-mutually intellig ...
spoken by the Mandandanji people. The Mandandanji language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Maranoa Regional Council, particularly
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 ...
,
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 ( ...
and
Surat Surat is a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The word Surat literally means ''face'' in Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of the river Tapti near its confluence with the Arabian Sea, it used to be a large seaport. It is now ...
, then east towards
Chinchilla Chinchillas are either of two species (''Chinchilla chinchilla'' and ''Chinchilla lanigera'') of crepuscular rodents of the parvorder Caviomorpha. They are slightly larger and more robust than ground squirrels, and are native to the Andes mount ...
and south-west towards Mitchell and
St George Saint George (Greek language, Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin language, Latin: Georgius, Arabic language, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christians, Christian who is venerated as a sa ...
. The town is named after
Sir Thomas Mitchell Sir Thomas Livingstone Mitchell (15 June 1792 – 5 October 1855), surveyor and explorer of Southeastern Australia, was born at Grangemouth in Stirlingshire, Scotland. In 1827 he took up an appointment as Assistant Surveyor General of New Sou ...
explorer and
Surveyor General of New South Wales The Surveyor-General of New South Wales is the primary government authority responsible for land and mining surveying in New South Wales. The original duties for the Surveyor General was to measure and determine land grants for settlers in New So ...
, who explored the area in 1846. In 1854, Edmund Morey established the property of ''Mitchell Downs''. When the original homestead was largely destroyed by a flood in 1864, Thomas Close acquired the building's ruins and established the ''Maranoa Hotel''. On 1 January 1865, Mitchell Downs Post Office opened and around 1878 was renamed Mitchell Post Office. Mitchell State School opened on 1 April 1876 as a primary school. In 1961, it was expanded to include a secondary school. The first St Columba's Catholic Church was officially opened and blessed 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 ca ...
Robert Dunne Robert Dunne (5 September 1830 – 13 January 1917) was the second Roman Catholic bishop of Brisbane and later he became its first archbishop. Dunne was born in Ardfinnan, County Tipperary, Ireland and was educated at Lismore Grammar School ...
on Saturday 15 November 1884. On Sunday 24 April 1938, the new St Columba's Catholic Church was officially opened and blessed by Monsignor McKenna of Toowoomba. It was designed by J.P. Donoghue. The timber church was built by contractor F.T. Woollam at a cost of £3000. It can seat 350 people. The foundation block for the first All Saints' Anglican Church in Mitchell was laid by
Coadjutor Bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "co ...
Nathaniel Dawes Nathaniel Dawes (24 July 1843 – 12 September 1910) was an Anglican bishop in Australia. He was the first Bishop of Rockhampton in Queensland, from 1892 to 1909. He was the first bishop to be consecrated in Australia. Early life Dawes was b ...
on Wednesday 13 November 1889. The church was officially opened on Tuesday 5 August 1890 by Bishop William Webber. It was designed by architect
John H. Buckeridge John H. Buckeridge (1857–1934) was an English-born Australian architect, who built about sixty churches in Queensland and is also remembered for remodelling the interior of the Macquarie era church of St James', King Street, Sydney. Life Jo ...
. It was and could seat 150 people. It was built from cypress pine by Roma contractors, Allen Clell & Sons, at a cost of £274. The current All Saints' Anglican Church was built in 1965. It was designed by Ford Hutton, Newell, Black, and Paulson. This brick church can seat 110 people. A Wesleyan Methodist Church was opened in Mitchell in April 1894. It could seat 80 people. It was built from timber at a cost of £200. Following the amalgamations of various denominations, it later became Mitchell Methodist Church and then Mitchell Uniting Church. It was at 82 Mary Street (). It has closed and been converted into a house. In 1902, after a short stand-off, bushrangers Patrick and James Kenniff were captured south of Mitchell at a location previously known as Back Creek but now known as Arrest Creek. Patrick was hanged in 1903 for the murder of Constable George Doyle (who had previously served at
Wyandra Wyandra is a town and a locality in the Shire of Paroo, Queensland, Australia. In the , Wyandra had a population of 99 people. Geography The Warrego River flows from north to south through the locality. The Mitchell Highway also passes from n ...
) and Albert Dahlke, while James was released after 12 years imprisonment and died peacefully in 1940. Long Gully Provisional School opened on 1915 on the road from Mitchell to
St George Saint George (Greek language, Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin language, Latin: Georgius, Arabic language, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christians, Christian who is venerated as a sa ...
; it closed in 1918. St Patrick's Catholic Primary School opened on 4 November 1923. Mitchell Aboriginal Provisional School opened on 1 May 1935 and was later proclaimed Mitchell Aboriginal State School. It closed on 19 November 1948. At the
2006 census 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...
, Mitchell had a population of 944. Mitchell was once the administrative centre of the
Shire of Booringa The Shire of Booringa was a Local government in Australia, local government area in the Maranoa, Queensland, Maranoa region of Queensland, Australia. The largest town and home of the shire administration was Mitchell, Queensland, Mitchell. It e ...
local government area. Since 2008, the town is now part of the
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 l ...
. In the March 2010 floods, the Maranoa River reached a peak of 13.4 m in the town causing an inundation of 25 houses. The town experienced the worst flooding ever in 2012 when a
monsoon trough The monsoon trough is a portion of the Intertropical Convergence Zone in the Western Pacific,Bin WangThe Asian Monsoon.Retrieved 2008-05-03. as depicted by a line on a weather map showing the locations of minimum sea level pressure, and as such, ...
hovered over central and southern Queensland and nearly inundated
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 ** ...
, 180km (112 mi) to the west. . In the , the locality of Mitchell had a population of 1,311 people. In the , the locality of Mitchell had a population of 1,031 people.


Heritage listings

Mitchell 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: * Mitchell War Memorial, Cambridge Street () *
Mitchell State School (1914 Building) Mitchell State School (1914 Building) was a heritage-listed state school building at 105 Cambridge Street, Mitchell, Maranoa Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Department of Public Works (Queensland) and built from 1913 to 1920 ...
, 105 Cambridge Street *
Mitchell railway station Mitchell railway station is located on the Western line in the Maranoa Region, Queensland, Australia. It serves the town of Mitchell. The station has one platform, opening in 1885. The station has a number of heritage-listed buildings, includ ...
: Oxford Street (passenger station), Alice Street (goods shed used by
Watco Australia Watco Australia is a rail haulage operator that was formed in 2010 to haul grain for the CBH Group in Western Australia. In 2019, it commenced operating in Queensland under a contract with GrainCorp. It is a subsidiary of Watco. History In 200 ...
and
Aurizon Aurizon ( ) is a freight rail transport company in Australia, formerly named QR National. it was the world’s largest rail transporter of coal from mine to port. Formerly a Queensland Government-owned company, it was privatised and floated o ...
) and Sheffield Street (station master's)


Amenities

Mitchell is home to the Booringa Heritage Museum housed in the old Council workshop building. The Maranoa Regional Council operates a public library and the Maranoa Art Gallery at the old Maranoa Theatre building in Cambridge Street. From here it provides public WiFi by way of a high speed ISDN Internet Connection (powered through 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 provider ...
) to
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 ...
. St Columba's Catholic Church is at 86 Alice Street (). All Saints' Anglican Church is at 118 Alice Street (). The Mitchell 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 87 Cambridge Street.


Education

Mitchell State School is a government primary and secondary (Prep-10) school for boys and girls at 105 Cambridge Street (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 132 students with 16 teachers (13 full-time equivalent) and 15 non-teaching staff (10 full-time equivalent). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 137 students with 15 teachers (13 full-time equivalent) and 14 non-teaching staff (10 full-time equivalent). Students come from Mitchell, Mungallala, Amby and surrounding properties. Students in Years 11 and 12 are taken by bus to Roma State College in
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 ...
. St Patrick's Primary School is a Catholic primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 100 Alice Street (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 37 students with 2 teachers and 6 non-teaching staff. In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 32 students with 4 teachers (3 full-time equivalent) and 5 non-teaching staff (3 full-time equivalent). A major
language revival Language revitalization, also referred to as language revival or reversing language shift, is an attempt to halt or reverse the decline of a language or to revive an extinct one. Those involved can include linguists, cultural or community groups, o ...
effort has been under way in Queensland schools since St Patrick's School started teaching the Gunggari language around 2013. Since then, Mitchell State School has also started teaching Gunggari.


Facilities

Facilities in Mitchell include: * Mitchell Police Station () * Mitchell Fire Station () * Mitchell
SES SES, S.E.S., Ses and similar variants can refere to: Business and economics * Socioeconomic status * Scottish Economic Society, a learned society in Scotland * SES, callsign of the TV station SES/RTS (Mount Gambier, South Australia) * SES S.A., ...
Facility () * Mitchell Multipurpose Health Service, a public hospital () * Mitchell Ambulance Station () * Mitchell Monumental Cemetery () * Mitchell Water Treatment Plant () The water supply for the town comes from three bores. The depth of the bores is about 1,000 metres. The water is pumped into a large concrete water tower on the western side of the town. The water is hot when it emerges from the ground, and in the tank it is about 50 °C. Houses close to the tank, have free hot water. In fact it is necessary to cool the water before it can be used.


Media

Mitchell is serviced by the following radio stations - based in other locations, broadcast via local transmitters: * Radio 4ZR (Resonate Radio Network) - 104.5 FM *
ABC Local Radio ABC Local Radio is a network of publicly owned radio stations in Australia, operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. ABC Local Radio stations broadcast across the continent using terrestrial transmitters and satellites. Its programm ...
- 106.1 FM *
ABC Radio National Radio National, known on-air as RN, is an Australia-wide public service broadcasting radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2. History 1937: Predecessors an ...
- 107.7 FM * Vision FM - 88.0 FM Television services are provided by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, with channels
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
, 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 ...
, transmitting to Mitchell through its relay station, ABMLQ, situated at 26°32′35″S 148°6′41″E (Mitchell Escarpment) The
Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...
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 Mitchell through its regional affiliate, ITQ
Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...
and its sister channels 10 Bold and 10 Peach transmit to Mitchell through its regional affiliate, CDT The
Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...
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 ...
and 9GO! transmit to Mitchell through its regional affiliate,
IMP IMP or imp may refer to: * Imp, a fantasy creature Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Imp (She-Ra), a character in ''She-Ra: Princess of Power'' * Imp a character in '' Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony'' * Imp, a character in the '' Cl ...
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 ...
,
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 ...
and
NITV National Indigenous Television (NITV) is an Australian free-to-air television channel that broadcasts programming produced and presented largely by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It includes the half-hourly nightly ''NITV News'' ...
also transmit to Mitchell.


Climate

Mitchell has a
humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
with hot summers and cold winters by Queensland standards. On 15 August 1979 Mitchell recorded a minimum temperature of −9.4 °C (15.1 °F), which is the third coldest temperature ever recorded in the state. Mitchell has the largest overall temperature range recorded in Australia (56.2°C, -9.4°C to 46.8°C). The town gets an average of 157.5 clear days annually.


Attractions

The Great Artesian Spa was opened in 1998 and is situated in the town's aquatic centre. There are two pools of artesian water, one heated and the other designed for those who prefer a cooler experience. Both spa pools have been designed with disabled access in mind and facilities include a chairlift to allow easy access for physically disabled people. The water used in the spa pools is renewed regularly and comes from the
Great Artesian Basin The Great Artesian Basin (GAB), located in Australia, is the largest and deepest artesian basin in the world, stretching over , with measured water temperatures ranging from . The basin provides the only source of fresh water through much ...
, which is one of the largest artesian basins in the world, which underlies around one-fifth of Australia. It covers a total area of more than 1,711,000 square kilometres, and has been relied upon for the town water supply since 1927. Other attractions include: * Mitchell Yumba Interpretive Trail * Neil Turner Weir * The Kenniff Courthouse * Kenniff Brothers Sculpture at Arrest Creek *
Major Mitchell Sir Thomas Livingstone Mitchell (15 June 1792 – 5 October 1855), surveyor and explorer of Southeastern Australia, was born at Grangemouth in Stirlingshire, Scotland. In 1827 he took up an appointment as Assistant Surveyor General of New Sou ...
's Campsite, 38 kilometres north of Mitchell * Musical Cattle Grid, on the banks of the Maranoa River There is a Visitor Information Centre located at the Great Artesian Spa complex, next door to the Mitchell Memorial Swimming Pool.


Notable people

* The 15th
Prime Minister of Australia The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the Australian Government, federal government of Australia and is also accountable to Parliament of A ...
, Francis Forde was born in Mitchell. He is Australia's shortest serving Prime Minister, with a term lasting just eight days. He was also Australia's longest living Prime Minister, until Gough Whitlam took that mantle. *
Joanne Currie Nalingu Joanne Currie Nalingu (born 1964) is an Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal Australian artist based in Caloundra. Her painting ''The River is Calm'' won the 2008 Wynne Prize. Early life Currie is a descendant of the Gunggari people and was bor ...
, artist


See also

* Mungallala *
Muckadilla Muckadilla is a rural town and locality in the Maranoa Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Muckadilla had a population of 58 people. Geography The town lies in the northern part of the locality. The Western railway line p ...


References


External links

* *
Mitchell Queensland
– visitor information and website of the Booringa Action Group, a local not-for-profit organisation who supports the local community. {{authority control Towns in Queensland Populated places established in 1864 Maranoa Region Localities in Queensland