Dirranbandi 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

Shire of Balonne The Shire of Balonne is a Local government in Australia, local government area in South West Queensland, Australia, over from the state capital, Brisbane. It covers an area of , and has existed as a local government entity since 1879. It is hea ...

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 locality is on the

border of Queensland Queensland is the north-eastern state of Australia and has land borders with three other Australian states and territories: New South Wales (to the south), South Australia (to the south-west) and Northern Territory (to the west). To the north o ...

with

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. In the , the locality of Dirranbandi had a population of 610 people.

Geography

Dirranbandi is on the

Castlereagh Highway Castlereagh Highway is a state highway located in New South Wales and Queensland, Australia. From north to south the highway traverses South West Queensland and the North West Slopes, Orana (New South Wales), Orana, and Central West (New South ...

and 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 ...

. It is notable for the population variations each year as seasonal workers come to work on the extensive

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

fields. Due to the low annual rainfall,

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...

is used extensively.

History

Yuwaalaraay The Yuwaalaraay, also spelt Euahlayi, Euayelai, Eualeyai, Ualarai, Yuwaaliyaay and Yuwallarai, are an Aboriginal Australian people of north-western New South Wales. Name and language The ethnonym derives from their word for "no" () to which ...

(also known as ''Yuwalyai, Euahlayi, Yuwaaliyaay, Gamilaraay, Kamilaroi, Yuwaaliyaayi'') 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 on Yuwaalaraay country. The Yuwaalaraay language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the

, including the town of Dirranbandi as well as the border town of Hebel extending to

Walgett Walgett is a town in northern New South Wales, Australia, and the seat of Walgett Shire. It is near the junctions of the Barwon and Namoi Rivers and the Kamilaroi and Castlereagh Highways. In 2021, Walgett had a population of 1,377. In the ...

and

Collarenebri Collarenebri ( ) is a town in north western New South Wales, Australia. The town is in the Walgett Shire Local Government Area and is situated on the Barwon River approximately northeast of Walgett and south west of Mungindi on the Gwydir H ...

.' Yuwaalayaay (also known as ''Yuwalyai, Euahlayi, Yuwaaliyaay, Gamilaraay, Kamilaroi, Yuwaaliyaayi'') is an

spoken on Yuwaalayaay country. It is closely related to the

Gamilaraay The Gamilaroi, also known as Gomeroi, Kamilaroi, Kamillaroi and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people whose lands extend from New South Wales to southern Queensland. They form one of the four largest Indigenous nations in Austr ...

and

languages. The Yuwaalayaay language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the

, including the town of Dirranbandi as well as the border town of

Goodooga Goodooga is a town in the Australian state of New South Wales in Brewarrina Shire on the eastern bank of the Bokhara River. It is near Brewarrina and Lightning Ridge, its closest neighbour. The town lies south of the Queensland border, and the ...

extending to

and the

Narran Lakes The Narran Wetlands, also known as the Narran Lakes, contained within the Narran Lake Nature Reserve, comprise a series of protected ephemeral lakes and swamps fed by the Narran River in the north-west of New South Wales, Australia. The reserve ...

in New South Wales.'

(also known as Gamilaroi, Kamilaroi, Comilroy) is an Aboriginal language from south-west Queensland and north-west

. The Gamilaraay language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Balonne Shire Council, including the towns of Dirranbandi, Thallon, Talwood and Bungunya as well as the border towns of

Mungindi Mungindi is a town and locality on the border of New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland, Australia. The town is within Moree Plains Shire in New South Wales. Within Queensland, the locality is split between the Shire of Balonne (the western part) ...

and Boomi extending to Moree, Tamworth and

Coonabarabran Coonabarabran () is a town in Warrumbungle Shire that sits on the divide between the Central West and North West Slopes regions of New South Wales, Australia. At the 2021 census, the town had a population of 2,387, Material was copied from th ...

in NSW. The town reserve was surveyed in March 1885 by surveyor

Claudius Buchanan Whish Claudius Buchanan Whish (5 January 1827 – 28 February 1890) was a prominent sugar-planter, civil servant and politician in Queensland, Australia. He was a Member of the Queensland Legislative Council. Early life Whish was born in London, the ...

. He is believed to have named the town using an Aboriginal word, meaning either ''broken forest country'' or ''chorus of frogs at night''. The name may be derived from a Yuwaaliyaay dialect placename, ''Dhurrunbandaay'', relating to ''dhurrun.gal'' ("hairy caterpillars") and ''baanda-y'' ("move in single file"). One hundred housing allotments were first set aside, followed by land for a police station, a state school, and post office. Dirranbandi Provisional School opened on 9 June 1902, but closed in April 1905. It reopened on 20 January 1908 and became Dirranbandi State School on 1 January 1909. On 29 January 1963, a secondary department to Year 10 was added. The

South Western railway South Western Railway Limited, trading as South Western Railway (SWR), is the British state-owned train operating company that took over the services of the South Western Railway (2017–2025), operator of the same name from FirstGroup and MTR ...

reached Dirranbandi on 22 May 1913. The town was served by the Dirranbandi railway station in Railway Street (). Kundilam railway station served the rural areas to the east of the town (). The name ''Kundilam'' is an Aboriginal word meaning ''scrub berry''. On 28 June 1917 Kundilam railway renamed Bonathorne railway station, named after the adjacent Bonathorne pastoral station of Alfred Allen Moore (the Bonathorne pastoral station still exists as at 8 May 2020). Noondoo railway station was approx east of the town (); it was named by the

Queensland Railways Department Queensland Rail (QR) is a railway operator in Queensland, Australia. Queensland Rail is owned by the Queensland Government, and operates both suburban and interurban rail services in South East Queensland, as well as long-distance passenger t ...

on 29 October after the Noondoo pastoral station which in turn is an Aboriginal name either for the spring near the homestead or the shrub growing near the spring. Hawkston railway station was located approximately east of the town (). The Catholic church in Dirranbandi was expected to be opened by

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

James Duhig Sir James Duhig KCMG (2 September 187110 April 1965) was an Irish-born Australian Roman Catholic religious leader. He was the Archbishop of Brisbane for 48 years from 1917 until his death in 1965. At the time of his death he was the longest- ...

on Sunday 25 April 1926, but it was not until 13 May 1928 that he was able to officially open St. Therese's Catholic Church. In September 1934 Mr. A. Clayton was contracted to build an Anglican church in Dirranbandi to the design of Brisbane architect, S. W. Prior. It was intended to be serviced by the Bush Brotherhood. By February 1935 it was open for services, but it was not until Saturday 15 February 1936 that Bishop Horace Dixon was able to come to Dirranbandi dedicate the church as St Mark's Anglican Church. Dirranbandi had the honour of being the destination for the last

mail train Many countries have had dedicated railway services for the delivery of postal mail. Examples include: * In Australia, the Travelling post office, Queensland * In Austria, the (1850–2004) * In France, the (1984–2015) were rail cars built s ...

to operate in Australia. The Thallon-to-Dirranbandi section of the line was closed on 2 September 2010. The Culgoa Floodplain National Park lies to the south-west. The town experienced serious flooding in February–March 2010 and January 2011. During 2020 and 2021, the Queensland borders were closed to most people due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Border crossing points were either closed or had a

Queensland Police The Queensland Police Service (QPS) is the principal law enforcement agency responsible for policing the Australian state of Queensland. In 1990, the Queensland Police Force was officially renamed the Queensland Police Service and the old motto ...

checkpoint to allow entry to only those people with an appropriate permit. The border crossing point on the Koomalah Road at Dirranbandi was closed.

Demographics

At the , Dirranbandi had a population of 711. In the , Dirranbandi had a population of 640 people. 79.9% of people were born in Australia and 85.2% of people spoke only English at home. The most common responses for religion were Catholic 29.3%, Anglican 26.5%, and No Religion 14.8%. In the , the locality of Dirranbandi had a population of 610 people.

Education

Dirranbandi P-10 State School is a government primary and secondary (Prep-10) school for boys and girls at Jane Street (). In 2015, the school had 73 students with 12 teachers (11 full-time equivalent). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 65 students with 13 teachers (11 full-time equivalent) and 13 non-teaching staff (9 full-time equivalent). For secondary education to Year 12, the nearest government school is St George State High School in neighbouring

St George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the R ...

to the north-west, but, given the distance,

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 would be other options.

Facilities

Dirranbandi has a hospital, civic centre, swimming pool, park and showground. Balonne Shire Council operates a library on the

inside the Rural Transaction Centre. The Dirranbandi 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 22 Kirby Street (). St Therese's Catholic Church is at 42 Kirby Street (); it is part of the parish of St Patrick's Parish headquartered in

St Mark's Anglican Church is at 55 Moore Street (). Dirranbandi Uniting Church meet at the Anglican Church in Moore Street. It is part of the

Uniting Church in Australia The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) is a united church in Australia. The church was founded on 22 June 1977 when most Wiktionary:congregation, congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church o ...

. Dirranbandi Aerodrome is located at the western end of Moore Street (). It is operated by the Balonne Shire Council. It has a sealed runway with lights.

Popular culture

Slim Dusty Slim Dusty, AO MBE (born David Gordon Kirkpatrick; 13 June 1927 – 19 September 2003) was an Australian country music singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. He was an Australian cultural icon, referred to universally as Australia's Ki ...

sang about being the Dirranbandi Dandy in the song " Cunnamulla Fella", which he co-wrote with

Stan Coster Stan Coster (27 May 193025 March 1997) was an Australian country music singer-songwriter. His songs were regularly performed by Slim Dusty and other singers. He is the father of country music singer Tracy Coster. Early life Stan Coster was bo ...

. Robert G. Barrett's popular "You Wouldn't be Dead for Quids" book series featured Les Norton as the lead character, who was born and bred in Dirranbandi.

Notable people

AU-Qld-Dirranbandi-Tom DANCEY statue-2021

Tom Dancey (1888–1957), a local stockman and Indigenous Australian, won Australia's most famous footrace, the

Stawell Gift The Stawell Gift is Australia's oldest and richest short-distance running race. It is the main event in an annual carnival held on Easter weekend by the Stawell Athletic Club, with the main race finals on the holiday Monday, at Central Park, S ...

in 1910. It is indicated the £1000 prize money was kept by his handlers and he only got the trophy. Brigadier General William Grant (1870–1939) post-

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

bought land in the area. He was involved in the

Australian Light Horse Australian Light Horse were mounted troops with characteristics of both cavalry and mounted infantry, who served in the Second Boer War and World War I, World War I. During the inter-war years, a number of regiments were raised as part of A ...

. Artwork commemorates Dirranbandi's contributions to the Light Horse in terms of men and horses. Actor

Ray Meagher Raymond Francis Meagher (born 4 July 1944) is an Australian actor, who has appeared in Australian film and television since the mid-1970s. He is notable as the longest continuing performer in an Australian television role, portraying Alf Ste ...

grew up near Dirranbandi. He is best known for playing

Alf Stewart Alfred James "Alf" Stewart is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera ''Home and Away'', played by Ray Meagher. Alf was created as one of the show's eighteen original characters. Meagher auditioned for the role of Tom Fletcher, befo ...

on soap opera

Home and Away ''Home and Away'' (''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a trip to Kangaroo Point, N ...

, and credits one of his character's catchphrases "Stone the flamin' crows!" to Dick Backhouse who was a stock and station agent in town.

Gallery

File:AU-Qld-Dirranbandi-town sign-2021.jpg, Town sign (2021). File:AU-Qld-Noondoo-Castlereagh Highway to Dirranbandi-2021.jpg, Castlereagh Highway to the eastern approach, Noondoo (2021). File:AU-Qld-Dirranbandi-Southern approach-2021.jpg, Southern approach to town (2021). File:AU-Qld-Dirranbandi-civic centre-2021.jpg, Civic Centre and library, Kirby Street (2021). File:AU-Qld-Dirranbandi-footpath-2021.jpg, Footpath along Kirby Street (2021). File:AU-Qld-Dirranbandi-main street-2021.jpg, Railway Street main street (2021). File:AU-Qld-Dirranbandi-show grounds-2021.jpg, Entrance to the show grounds, Kirby Street (2021). File:AU-Qld-Dirranbandi-J G Hile Park and water tower-2021.jpg, J G Hile Park, and water tower, Richardson Street (2021). File:AU-Qld-Dirranbandi-Dirran Pub hotel motel-2021.jpg, Dirran Pub public hotel motel (2021). File:AU-Qld-Dirranbandi-police station-2021.jpg, Queensland Police Service police station, Kirby Street (2021). File:AU-Qld-Dirranbandi-post office-2021.jpg, Australia Post Office, Railway and Richardson Streets (2021). File:AU-Qld-Dirranbandi-Toyota Land Cruiser ambulance-2021.jpg, Queensland Ambulance Service ambulance, Toyota Land Cruiser (2021). File:AU-Qld-Dirranbandi-Dirranbandi Dandy artwork-2021.jpg, Artwork of the Dirranbandi Dandy, Railway Street Park (2021). File:AU-Qld-Dirranbandi-Light Horse artwork-2021.jpg, Artwork of the Australian Light Horse (Beersheba Memorial), Railway Street Park (2021). File:AU-Qld-Dirranbandi-painted posts-2021.jpg, Painted posts on Kirby Street (2021). File:AU-Qld-Dirranbandi-war memorial-2021.jpg, War memorial, Kirby Street (2021). File:AU-Qld-Dirranbandi-war memorial stone-2021.jpg, War memorial, Kirby Street (2021). File:AU-Qld-Dirranbandi-QCWA rest room-2021.jpg, Queensland Country Women's Association rest room, Kirby Street (2021). File:AU-Qld-Dirranbandi-QCWA rest room gate-2021.jpg, Queensland Country Women's Association rest room, Kirby Street (2021). File:AU-Qld-Dirranbandi-Narran River Minnum Road-2021.jpg, Narran River before Minnum Road, south of Dirranbandi (2021).

References

External links

* * * {{authority control Towns in Queensland Shire of Balonne 1885 establishments in Australia Populated places established in 1885 Localities in Queensland