Amby is a rural town and

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality, a historical named location or place in Canada * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localitie ...

in the

Maranoa Region Maranoa Region is a Local government in Australia, local government area in South West Queensland, Australia. The town of Roma, Queensland, Roma is the administrative headquarters of the region. In the , the Maranoa Region had a population of 1 ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia. In the , the locality of Amby had a population of 49 people.

Geography

The town is roughly in the centre of the locality. Amby Creek flows through the location from north to south, passing immediately to the east of the town. Amby Creek is eventually a tributary of 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 ...

. 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 the locality from east to west, passing through the main street of the town. The Western railway line also passes through the locality from east to west, with two railway stations in the locality: * Amby railway station, serving the town () * Bongo railway station, to the north-west of the town () The land use is predominantly grazing on native vegetation with some crop growing and quarrying. Amby is situated near

lava flows Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or unde ...

from ancient volcanoes and local quarries extract

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

for use in road building, railway ballast, and a range of other construction uses.

History

Amby takes its name from the Amby Creek; Amby is possibly a word meaning "little girl" in Kogai dialect of

Mandandanji language Bidjara, also spelt Bidyara or Pitjara, is an Australian Aboriginal language. In 1980, it was spoken by 20 elders in Queensland between the towns of Tambo and Augathella, or the Warrego and Langlo Rivers. There are many dialects of the la ...

. The Amby Downs pastoral station is believed to have been established before 1860. The Western railway line was surveyed in 1879. The railway was not originally intended to pass through this area, but flooding resulted in a change of plans to put a long trestle bridge over Amby Creek. Amby railway station was built in 1884 and a goods yard established in 1885, with passenger services commencing in 1890.Information board, Heritage Park, Amby, 2019 A postal receiving office opened at Amby around 1883, and became a post office around 1900; it continues to operate out of the Amby Store.Amby Postcode
Australia Post Amby Provisional School opened on 26 February 1894 and became Amby State School in 1901. It closed on 19 September 1997. The school was in School Street (). Freeman's Waterhole Provisional School opened on 8 March 1920. In 1923 it was renamed Hampstead Provisional School. It closed on 30 May 1930. St Barnabas' Anglican Church was opened circa November 1955 by Ian Shevill, the Anglican Bishop of North Queensland. It was built of timber and could seat 70 people. It has now closed but the building is still extant. It is on the northern corner of School Street and Queen Street ().

Demographics

In the , the locality of Amby had a population of 139 people. In the , the locality of Amby had a population of 86 people. In the , the locality of Amby had a population of 49 people.

Economy

There are a number of homesteads in the locality: * Amby Downs in the north-east of the locality () * Huntington () * Richland Hill () * Spring Hill () * Turtle Grove ()

Education

There are no schools in Amby. The nearest government school is Mitchell State School in neighbouring Mitchell to the west which provide primary education and secondary education to Year 10. For secondary education to Year 12, the nearest government school is Roma State College in

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

to the east, but it is sufficiently distant that

distance education Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance; today, it usually involves online ...

and boarding school are other options.

Amenities

The Amby 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 ...

meets in the Booringa Shire Hall.

Facilities

Facilities in the town include: * Amby Fire Station () * Amby Monumental Cemetery on the Spring Hill Access road () * Amby "No Horse" Golf course on the Spring Hill Access road ()

Notable residents

Robert Dunsmure Robert Dunsmure (23 December 1852 – 4 August 1894) was a pastoralist and politician in colonial Queensland. He was a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly from 1888 to 1893, representing the electorate of Electoral district of Maranoa ...

, Member of the

Queensland Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembly h ...

for Maranoa

References

External links

* {{authority control Maranoa Region Towns in Queensland Localities in Queensland