Bogantungan is a rural town in the locality of

Willows Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...

in the

Central Highlands Region Central Highlands Region is a local government area in Queensland, Australia. History '' Wadja'' (also known as ''Wadjigu'', ''Wadya'', ''Wadjainngo'', ''Mandalgu'', and ''Wadjigun)'' is an Australian Aboriginal language in Central Queensland ...

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.

Geography

The town is north west of the state capital

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 ...

and west of the regional city of

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of the ...

. 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 Queensla ...

passes through the town which was once served by the

Bogantungan railway station Bogantungan is a rural town in the locality of Willows in the Central Highlands Region, Queensland, Australia. Geography The town is north west of the state capital Brisbane and west of the regional city of Rockhampton. The Central Weste ...

. The small number of houses in the town are located around the railway station. The

Capricorn Highway The Capricorn Highway is located in Central Queensland, Australia, and links the city of Rockhampton with western Queensland. The highway is long, and joins the Landsborough Highway at Barcaldine. Formerly National Route 66, Queensland began ...

once passed through the town but now bypasses it to the north.

History

The name ''Bogantungan'' derives from Aboriginal words "''bogan''" meaning "''grass''" and "''tungan''" meaning "''tree''". The Central Western railway was built in sections, beginning at

and then heading west. Each section involved establishing a temporary settlement to accommodate the workers while they were building the railway. After that section was complete, the workers moved further west were a new settlement was established. Although intended as temporary, some of these settlements continued to survive after the railway workers had moved on, becoming permanent towns. Bogantungan was one of these. In its heyday, it was a town of some thousands of people, with around 30 hotels. In March 1881, 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 fr ...

held a land sale, auctioning 48 town lots in the town of Bogantungan. Bogantungan Post Office opened on 8 July 1881 and closed in 1982. Bogantungan State School opened on 19 March 1883. It closed on 11 August 1972. It was on Jackson Street (). Nearby Medway station, in the Bogantungan ranges, was established by Robert Donaldson and C.E. Glissan. The Donaldson family, including

Agnes Adelaide Donaldson Agnes Adelaide Donaldson (; 1866–1948) was an Australian botanical collector, governess, and sheep station owner. Part of the expansive network of collectors established by Ferdinand von Mueller to botanically describe and categorise the fl ...

moved there in 1909, and after the business partnership was dissolved the Donaldson's have continued to manage the property into the present day, as a cattle stud. On 26 February 1960, Bogantungan was the site of the

Medway Creek rail disaster The Medway Creek rail disaster occurred on 26 February 1960 when the Midlander, a passenger train service that operated in Central Queensland, crashed while crossing over the bridge above Medway Creek, near Bogantungan, Queensland, Australia. E ...

, one of Queensland's worst train accidents. '' The Midlander'' passenger train, heading east to Rockhampton, passed over the flooded Medway Creek, just west of the town. The bridge collapsed when the train was partly over, with a number of carriages dropping into the water. A total of 4 passengers and 3 crew were killed, with 43 injured.

Attractions

Boguntungan Railway Station is now a small historical museum and rest area, with a memorial and interpretive panels about the rail disaster and the railway buildings.

Education

There are no schools in Bogantungan. The nearest primary schools are in Lochington ( south by minor roads), Anakie ( east on the Capricorn Highway) or

Alpha Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἄλφα, ''álpha'', or ell, άλφα, álfa) 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 , whic ...

( west on the Capricorn Highway). The nearest secondary school is in Alpha (to Year 10 only). The nearest secondary school offering education to Year 12 is Emerald State High School in

Emerald Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr. and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991) ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York, p ...

( east on the Capricorn Highway). Other secondary alternatives are

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 ...

and

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

References

External links

* {{authority control Towns in Queensland Central Highlands Region