Bunya Mountains is a

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 ...

split between the

Western Downs Region Western Downs Region is a Local government in Australia, local government area in Queensland, Australia. The Western Downs Regional Council manages an area of , which is slightly smaller than Switzerland, although with a population of 34,467 ...

and the

South Burnett Region The South Burnett Region is a local government area in the South Burnett district of Queensland, Australia. In the , the South Burnett Region had a population of 32,996 people. Geography The South Burnett Region covers an area , containing a ...

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. The town of Mount Mowbullan () is located on the boundary of Bunya Mountains and the enclosed locality of Mowbullan. In the , Bunya Mountains had a population of 110 people.

Geography

The locality is split between the two local government areas: the smaller north-eastern part of the locality in South Burnett Region and the larger south-western part in the Western Downs Region. The north-eastern part is almost entirely within the Bunya Mountains National Park, with a small portion of the south-western part also in the National Park. In contrast, most of the south-western part is freehold land used for agriculture. However, only a very small portion of the north-eastern part as freehold land, used for residential and agricultural purposes. The Bunya Mountain Road roughly follows the split between the two local government areas. The

Bunya Highway The Bunya Highway is a state highway of Queensland, Australia. It is a relatively short road, running approximately 173 kilometres in a south-westerly direction from Goomeri to Dalby. The highway connects the Warrego and Burnett Highways. ...

passes through the western corner of the locality. The locality of Mowbullan (in the Western Downs Region) is completely enclosed by the locality of Bunya Mountains and does not form part of the national park. This enclosure within another locality is unusual in Queensland and contrary to the Queensland Government's normal policies.

History

The locality name comes from the mountain range,

Bunya Mountains The Bunya Mountains are a distinctive set of peaks forming an isolated section of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland. The mountain range forms the northern edge of the Darling Downs in the locality also called Bunya Mountains, Quee ...

, and is a

Kabi language Gubbi Gubbi, also spelt Kabi Kabi, is a language of Queensland in Australia, formerly spoken by the Kabi Kabi people of South-east Queensland. The main dialect, Gubbi Gubbi, is extinct, but there are still 24 people with knowledge of the Butc ...

word ''bonyi'' or ''bunyi'', indicating the Bunya pine tree (''

Araucaria bidwillii ''Araucaria bidwillii'', commonly known as the bunya pine (), banya or bunya-bunya, is a large evergreen coniferous tree in the family Araucariaceae which is endemic to Australia. Its natural range is southeast Queensland with two very small, ...

''). Sunnyvale State School (also known as Sunny Vale State School) opened on 11 July 1911 and closed in 1958. It was on a site on the eastern corner of Sunnyvale Road and Blancks Road (). Woodlawn State School opened in early 1916. It closed circa 1944. It was on the southern corner of the junction of Woodlawn Road and Woodlawn School Road (). Bunya Mountains Provisional School opened on 6 October 1919 and closed on 15 December 1922. A 670-metre tramway with a 250 metre descent from the mountain top to the bottom at Wengenville used

winches A winch is a mechanical device that is used to pull in (wind up) or let out (wind out) or otherwise adjust the tension (physics), tension of a rope or wire rope (also called "cable" or "wire cable"). In its simplest form, it consists of a Bobb ...

, winders and

flying foxes ''Pteropus'' (suborder Yinpterochiroptera) is a genus of megabats which are among the largest bats in the world. They are commonly known as fruit bats or flying foxes, among other colloquial names. They live in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Austr ...

from 1923 to 1928. The logs were transferred to a horse-drawn tram for movement to a log dump. A "not to scale" model of the tramway can be seen at the natural history museum at the Dandabah camping area.

Demographics

In the , Bunya Mountains had a population of 144 people. In the , Bunya Mountains had a population of 110 people.

Education

There are no schools in the locality of Bunya Mountains. The nearest government primary schools are Bell State School in neighbouring

Bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...

to the west, Kumbia State School in Kumbia to the north, and Quinalow Prep-10 State School in Quinalow to the south. The nearest government secondary schools are Quinalow Prep-10 State School (to Year 10) in Quinalow,

Dalby State High School Dalby State High School is a heritage-listed Queensland State High Schools, state high school at 28B Nicholson Street, Dalby, Queensland, Dalby, Western Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1953 to 1954. It was added to the ...

(to Year 12) in Dalby to the south-west, Kingaroy State High School in

Kingaroy Kingaroy () is a rural town and suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the South Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. The town is situated on the Road Junction, junction of the D'Aguilar Highway, D'Aguilar and the Bunya Highway, Buny ...

to the north-east, and Nanango State High School (to Year 12) in

Nanango Nanango is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the South Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Nanango had a population of 3,679 people. Geography Nanango is situated north-west of the ...

to the north-east.

Amenities

Bunya Tavern is in Bunya Avenue.

References