Aramac 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

Barcaldine Region The Barcaldine Region is a local government area in Central West Queensland, Australia. Established in 2008, it was preceded by three previous local government areas which had existed for over a century. It has an estimated operating budget of ...

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 Aramac had a population of 372 people.

Geography

Aramac is located north of Barcaldine, and by road from the state capital,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

. It is situated on

Aramac Creek Aramac is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Aramac had a population of 372 people. Geography Aramac is located north of Barcaldine, Queensl ...

, which flows into the Thomson River west of town. The Muttaburra–Aramac Road enters from the north and exits as Barcaldine–Aramac Road to the south. The predominant industry is grazing. The town water for Aramac is supplied from two bores connecting into the

Great Artesian Basin The Great Artesian Basin (GAB) of Australia is the largest and deepest artesian basin in the world, extending over . Measured water temperatures range from . The basin provides the only source of fresh water through much of inland Australia. ...

History

Aramac lay on the traditional tribal lands of the Iningai. Iningai (also known as Yiningay, Muttaburra, Tateburra, Yinangay, Yinangi) 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 Iningai people. The Iningai language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the

Longreach Region The Longreach Region is a local government area in Central West Queensland, Australia. Established in 2008, it superseded three previous local government areas that had existed for more than a century. It has an estimated operating budget of A ...

and

, particularly the towns of

Longreach Longreach is a rural town and locality in the Longreach Region, Queensland, Australia. It is the administrative centre of the Longreach Regional Council, which was established in 2008 as a merger of the former Longreach, Ilfracombe, and I ...

, Barcaldine,

Muttaburra Muttaburra is an outback town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia. Muttaburra was the discovery site of the ''Muttaburrasaurus'', one of Australia's most famous dinosaurs. In the , t ...

and Aramac as well as the properties of Bowen Downs and catchments of Cornish Creek and Alice River. In 1860, pastoralists and explorers,

William Landsborough William Landsborough (21 February 1825 – 16 March 1886) was an explorer of Australia. He was notable for being the first explorer to complete a North-to-South crossing of Australia. He was a member of the Queensland Legislative Council. ...

and

Nathaniel Buchanan Nathaniel Buchanan (1826 – 23 September 1901) was an Australian pioneer pastoralist, drover and explorer. Early life Buchanan was born near Dublin, and was of Scottish descent the son of Lieutenant Charles Henry Buchanan, and his wi ...

, travelled through the region looking for land to acquire. They came across a creek surrounded by good grazing country and Landsborough named it Aramac (derived from R.R. Mac) in honour of the future

Premier of Queensland The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland. By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is appointed ...

, Robert Ramsey Mackenzie. British pastoral occupation began in the region in 1862 with the formation of the massive

Bowen Downs station Bowen Downs Station is a pastoral lease that has operated both as a cattle station and a sheep station. It is located about east of Muttaburra and north west of Aramac in the outback of Queensland. It is watered by the Thomson River and tr ...

Aramac Station Aramac Station was a pastoral lease that has operated both as a cattle station and a sheep station. It is located about south east of Muttaburra and north west of Alpha near the town of Aramac in Queensland. The district was first explored ...

was established by John Rule and Dyson Lacey in 1863. In 1867, an employee of

, John William Kingston, opened a bark-hut store at an outlying point on the Aramac Creek. Enlarged two years later to include a hotel (Kingston's Bazaar), Kingston's settlement was declared a town site in 1869 and surveyed as a town in 1875. It was the region's first town, and the centre of the first local-government division. To this day John William Kingston is recognised as the original founder of Aramac. His grave bears a plaque in the Aramac Cemetery acknowledging his achievement. The town was originally called Marathon. The name was changed to that of Aramac, after the station, when the survey was conducted in 1875. Recollections of an 1878 visit to Aramac were published in the

Rockhampton Morning Bulletin ''The Morning Bulletin'' is an online newspaper servicing the city of Rockhampton and the surrounding areas of Central Queensland, Australia. From 1861 to 2020, ''The Morning Bulletin'' was published as a print edition, before then becoming an ...

in 1933, describing the township as consisting of "neat weatherboard structures, painted, and comprising four stores, three hotels, and three butchers' shops, with a post office, bank, court house, and surgery", and the surrounding countryside and as "one of the emporia of the West."

"The place is known to so many by name only that the visitor feels himself travelled. Moreover, he has become, acquainted, however slightly, with the great western country, of which we have all heard so much. "He has been on its threshold, having traversed the desert, and beheld, not without surprise, broad rolling downs stretching away to the horizon, with an open landscape, sparsely mottled with trees, the whole presenting a vivid contrast to the dense scrub and scanty herbage of some of the more easterly districts. He has, in a word, seen an oasis in the 'Sahara' -one which, to him, has a beginning, but is boundless on the western side. Besides this, if the visit has been made during Show week, he has come more, fully to appreciate the great pastoral interest, as represented in the persons of men of intelligence and energy -the pioneers of colonisation, the promoters of commerce."

Little is known about the original indigenous population, although there was a reported massacre of 25 local Aborigines at the nearby Mailman's Gorge. This event remained largely unknown until the publication of ''North Queensland Pioneers in 1932.'' The author stated:

"The indigenous people were very numerous in the ranges around Aramac in the early days and the murder of a travelling jeweller and his wife and child caused reprisals. Harried by the police, the offending tribe took refuge in the country of a hostile tribe, and this precipitated wholesale tribal warfare. To this day it is said the mountain caves yield skeletons, the result of this tribal war."

An 1865 account said the death of a shepherd or a government employee at Stainburn Downs station, north-west of Aramac, led to a revenge attack by squatters. Three Europeans are supposed to have tracked 30 Aborigines to a cave at Mailman's Gorge and shot them. Another account states that after the body of the station-worker was found, Alexander "Long" Gordon (after whom the main street of Aramac is named) tracked "the blacks" out to a cave near Greyrock at Mailman's Gorge where he shot every one of them dead. Aramac White Bull

In 1870, Henry 'Harry' Redford duffed cattle from a property called Bowen Downs. He amassed a herd of about 1,000 cattle. Knowing that the Bowen Downs cattle brand would be recognised locally, Redford knew he could not sell them locally, so decided to drive the cattle overland to

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. This was a remarkable achievement of droving, but unfortunately for Redford, his herd included a prize white bull which was sufficiently unusual that it was recognised and Redford and his conspirators were arrested. Redford is believed to be the inspiration for the fictional bushranger Captain Starlight in the novel ''

Robbery Under Arms ''Robbery Under Arms'' is a bushranger novel by Thomas Alexander Browne, published under his pen name Rolf Boldrewood. It was first published in serialised form by ''The Sydney Mail'' between July 1882 and August 1883, then in three volumes in ...

''. Aramac Post Office opened on 1 March 1874. Teacher stands outside her residence Aramac Queensland circa 1914

Aramac State School opened on 21 January 1878. By 1901 the school was well established and received a very positive report from the School Inspector, Mr. Benbow, printed in

The Western Champion ''The Western Champion'' was a newspaper published initially in Blackall and later in nearby Barcaldine, Queensland, Australia. History The newspaper was initially published under the name ''The Western Champion'' from 1879 to 1891 by J. Monahan ...

"The discipline is kind, quietly firm, and sensible; the moral tone appears to be healthy; the school habits are very satisfactory; general behaviour is respectful and attentive; the class movements are quietly and effectively carried out, and very good order is maintained. Methods: The methods employed in teaching are generally intelligent and skillful; they are applied with skill and considerable energy; the amount of revision is sufficient. Progress: The progress made by the pupils may be regarded as good and sound. General condition: Everything considered the general condition of the school is highly satisfactory. Remarks: The two highest classes have been carefully and intelligently instructed, and the pupils of these classes have evidently been taught to think. The demeanor of the children during inspection was most pleasing."

The hospital opened in 1879. Circa 1888-1889 an Anglican church opened in Aramac.Aramac was initially a major outback town. However, when the

Central Western railway line The Central Western railway line is a railway line in Queensland, Australia. It was opened in a series of sections between 1867 and 1928. It commences at Rockhampton and extends west to Winton. History Following the separation of Queensl ...

reached Barcaldine to the south in 1886, it drew trade away from Aramac. The residents agitated to get a railway connection to Aramac, but the Queensland Government was not willing. Having surveyed a route, in 1906, the Aramac Shire Council tried to borrow money from the Queensland Government to build their own railway. At that time, the Queensland Government was interested in creating a western connection between the Central Western railway line and the Great Northern railway and making that connection via Aramac was one possibility, but the government decided instead to build the connection between Longreach and Winton. Eventually the council borrowed the funding to build the

Aramac Tramway Aramac Tramway Museum is a heritage-listed former railway, tramway station and now a museum at Boundary Street, Aramac, Queensland, Aramac, Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1912 to 1913. It is also known as Aramac Tra ...

connecting to the Western Central Line at Lagoon Creek, west of the Barcaldine railway station. The tramway opened on 2 July 1913 and operated until 31 December 1975. A tramway museum opened in 1994 in the old goods sheds. St John's Catholic Church was opened circa 23 May 1901 by

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Joseph Higgins. In 1952, the old church was demolished to enable the construction of a new church, with services being held temporarily in the presbytery. On Sunday 14 December 1952, the new St John's Catholic Church was officially opened by Bishop Andrew Tynan. In 1914, Aramac developed thermal baths with its

artesian water An artesian well is a well that brings groundwater to the surface without pumping because it is under pressure within a body of rock or sediment known as an aquifer. When trapped water in an aquifer is surrounded by layers of impermeable roc ...

to promote itself as a health resort; however, it did not attract many invalids due to its isolated geographic location and the failure of the local government to promote the baths. The Aramac War Memorial was officially unveiled in April 1924, at a well attended public ceremony. The ''

Last Post The "Last Post" is a British and Commonwealth bugle call used at military funerals, and at ceremonies commemorating those who have died in war. Versions The "Last Post" is either an A or a B♭ bugle call, primarily within British infan ...

'' was played by Mr Affoo, and the children were all given a bag of lollies at the end of the ceremony. Shire Chairman, E.W. Bowyer presided and, as the Governor was unable to attend, gave the following speech:

"This memorial was erected by the people of the Aramac Shire, as a modest tribute to the patriotism and loyalty of the men who enlisted to take part in the late deplorable European War. It will serve as an ineffaceable record to remind not only the rising generation but succeeding generations that Australians fought, bled, and died in the defence of their country."

In June 1924, a branch of the

Country Women's Association The Country Women's Association (CWA) is a women's organisation in Australia, which seeks to advance interests of women, families, and communities in Australia, especially those in rural, regional, and remote areas. It comprises seven indep ...

was formed in Aramac, and by August that year were active, their efforts much appreciated in the town, and reported in the

Western Champion The ''Western Champion'' was a weekly English language newspaper published in Parkes, New South Wales, Australia. History The town of Parkes had been served with many newspapers. The ''Western Champion'' began in 1893 and was published by M. J ...

: "Something new in entertainments was provided on Friday evening at the Shire Bail, when the Aramac branch of the Country Women's Association arranged a Euchre and Ping Pong tournament for us, with dance thrown in." On 22 November 2019, the

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the state government of Queensland, Australia, a Parliament, parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Government is formed by the party or coalition that has gained a majority in the Queensland Legislative Assembly, ...

decided to amalgamate the localities in the Barcaldine Region, resulting in five expanded localities based on the larger towns:

Alpha Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter ''aleph'' , whose name comes from the West Semitic word for ' ...

, Aramac, Barcaldine,

Jericho Jericho ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and the capital of the Jericho Governorate. Jericho is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It had a population of 20,907 in 2017. F ...

and

. Aramac was expanded to incorporate Cornish Creek (eastern part), Dunrobin (south-western corner),

Galilee Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ). ''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...

Garfield ''Garfield'' is an American comic strip created by Jim Davis (cartoonist), Jim Davis. Originally published locally as ''Jon'' in 1976 (later changed to ''Garfield'' in 1977), then in nationwide Print syndication, syndication from 1978, it chro ...

(western corner),

Ibis The ibis () (collective plural ibises; classical plurals ibides and ibes) are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae that inhabit wetlands, forests and plains. "Ibis" derives from the Latin and Ancient Greek word f ...

, Ingberry (northern part), Pelican Creek,

Sardine Sardine and pilchard are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring suborder Clupeoidei. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century; a somewhat dubious etymology says it com ...

(eastern part),

Upland Upland or Uplands may refer to: Geography *Hill, an area of higher land, generally *Highland, an area of higher land divided into low and high points *Upland and lowland, conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level *I ...

, and Upper Cornish Creek.

Demographics

In the , the town of Aramac had a population of 341 people. In the , the locality of Aramac had a population of 299 people. In the , the locality of Aramac had a population of 299 people. In the , the locality of Aramac had a population of 372 people.

Heritage listings

Aramac has a number of

heritage-listed This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and human-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In ma ...

sites, including: *

Aramac Tramway Museum Aramac Tramway Museum is a heritage-listed former tramway station and now a museum at Boundary Street, Aramac, Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1912 to 1913. It is also known as Aramac Tramway Station. It was added t ...

, Boundary Street\ * Aramac War Memorial, Lodge Street *

Aramac State School Aramac State School is a heritage-listed state school at 69 Porter Street, Aramac, Queensland, Aramac, Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Francis Drummond Greville Stanley and built in 1880 by McMahon and Cowper. It wa ...

, 69 Porter Street

Education

Aramac State School is a government primary and secondary (Early Childhood-10) school for boys and girls at 69 Porter Street (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 56 students with 10 teachers (9 full-time equivalent) and 10 non-teaching staff (6 full-time equivalent). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 55 students with 10 teachers (9 full-time equivalent) and 12 non-teaching staff (6 full-time equivalent). The closest secondary school for students from Years 11 and 12 is Barcaldine Prep-12 State School, to the south in Barcaldine.

Facilities

Aramac has a visitor information centre, swimming pool located within the grounds of the Aramac Memorial Park in Gordon Street, a town hall, showground and a pub. There is no hospital, but nurse-led clinic facilities (Monday to Friday), ambulance services and 24-hours a day, seven days a week emergency on-call services. In 2016 the community had access to two doctors, with one staying overnight for two full days each week. The town is also serviced by the

Royal Flying Doctor Service The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS), commonly known as the Flying Doctor, is an aeromedical retrieval service in Australia and the largest of its kind in the world. It is a non-profit organisation that provides urgent and emergency medica ...

. Barcaldine Regional Council operates the Ollie Landers Community Library at 68 Gordon Street.

Events

The annual

Harry Redford Henry Arthur Readford (sometimes spelt Redford) (December 1841 – 12 March 1901), was an Australian stockman, drover and cattle thief. Although Readford himself never used, and had never been associated with the moniker, Rolf Boldrewood ...

Cattle Drive begins in Aramac and partly traces the 1870 footsteps of renowned cattle duffer

who walked 1,000 head of cattle from Bowen Downs, north of Aramac, to South Australia. In 2015 and 2016 the drive was cancelled due to prolonged drought in the region.

Nearby cattle and sheep stations

Bowen Downs Station Bowen Downs Station is a pastoral lease that has operated both as a cattle station and a sheep station. It is located about east of Muttaburra and north west of Aramac in the outback of Queensland. It is watered by the Thomson River and tr ...

* Gracevale Station is about west of Aramac, about an hour by road and occupying about . It was returned to the

traditional owners Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...

, the Iningai people, in 2019, and will be renamed Turraburra. Much work on restoring the land and waterways has been done, and it is being opened to visitors. Cliffs on the property are covered with ancient

rock art In archaeology, rock arts are human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type al ...

, including paintings and etchings of

megafauna In zoology, megafauna (from Ancient Greek, Greek μέγας ''megas'' "large" and Neo-Latin ''fauna'' "animal life") are large animals. The precise definition of the term varies widely, though a common threshold is approximately , this lower en ...

emu The emu (; ''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is a species of flightless bird endemism, endemic to Australia, where it is the Tallest extant birds, tallest native bird. It is the only extant taxon, extant member of the genus ''Dromaius'' and the ...

symbols and the traditional

songline A songline, also called dreaming track, is one of the paths across the land (or sometimes the sky) within the animist belief systems of the Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal cultures of Australia. They mark the route followed by localised "crea ...

of the Seven Sisters. Planning for an educational centre created from local rock is under way.

References

External links

*
Town map of Aramac, 1980

Aramac Shire Council

{{Authority control Towns in Queensland Populated places established in 1869 Barcaldine Region 1869 establishments in Australia Hot springs of Australia Localities in Queensland