Einasleigh 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 Etheridge,

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 Einasleigh had a population of 87 people.

Geography

The town is in the north of the locality at the confluence of Einasleigh River with the Copperfield River. The Einasleigh River has a

catchment area A catchment area in human geography, is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...

of . Following its confluence with the Gilbert River, they spill into a vast

estuarine An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

delta approximately wide that largely consists of tidal flats and

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

s across the

Gulf Country The Gulf Country or North West Queensland is the region of woodland and savanna grassland surrounding the Gulf of Carpentaria in north western Queensland and eastern Northern Territory on the north coast of Australia. The region is also ca ...

. The Einasleigh River descends over its course. Kidston is a ghost town within the south of the locality (). The Tablelands railway line enters the locality from the north-east (Mount Surprise) and exits to the west (Forsayth). The line passes through the town of Einasleigh which is served by the Einasleigh railway station in Railway Street ().

Mountains

Einasleigh has numerous mountains (from north to south): * Beril Peak () * Blackman Peak () * Fraser Peak () * The Lighthouse () * The Canyon () * Mount Alder () * Stockmans Hill () * Mount Juliet () * Mount Ossa () * Mount Harry () * Mount Mambury () * Mount Blacktop () * Mount Tabletop () * Mount Misery () * Mount Borium () * The Twins () * Greys Hill () * Iib Pinnacles () * Mount Jordan () * Ironstone Knobs () * Paddys Knob ()

History

The indigenous people of Einasleigh were the Ewamin. The name of Einasleigh came from the river, which was named by a surveyor and pastoralists in August 1864. A

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

station was established in 1900 but closed in 1903. Questions were raised in 1906 as to why Einasleigh, with two hotels, two stores, and "hundreds of travelling public" annually had no police protection. A station was opened again. The police station in Baroota Street was closed in August 2005. It was in Baroota Street (). As at September 2024, the police station building is still extant. Einasleigh Provisional School opened on 29 October 1901. It closed in 1905, but reopened in 1906. On 1 January 1909, it became Einasleigh State School. It closed in 1955. It was at 5–7 First Street (). In September 1908, housekeeper Nellie Margaret Duffy was murdered at the Carpentaria Downs pastoral station, south-east of Einasleigh. There were two alleged offenders; one was later discharged and, despite confessions, the other was found not guilty. Einasleigh Post Office opened by May 1909 (a

receiving office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

had been open from 1900) and closed in 1993. In 1930, the local butcher and another man were charged with the murder of two Chinese market gardeners, Jimmy Hop and Wing Chung. The defendants were later found not guilty as the evidence was only circumstantial.

Demographics

In the , the locality of Einasleigh had a population of 202 people. In the , the locality of Einasleigh had a population of 92 people. In the , the locality of Einasleigh had a population of 87 people.

Heritage listings

Einasleigh 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: * Einasleigh Copper Mine and Smelter, Daintree Road * Einasleigh Hotel, Daintree Street * Einasleigh railway station and Station Master's Residence on the Etheridge railway line (now Tablelands railway line) * Kidston State Battery & Township, Kidston

Economy

Kidston Solar Project is a solar farm located south-west of the former town of Kidston (). This area has highest solar radiation zone in Australia. In the project's first phase, 540,000 solar panels have been installed and are operating on a single axis tracking system.

Education

There are no schools in Einasleigh. The nearest government primary schools are Forsayth State School in neighbouring Forsayth to the west, Georgetown State School in neighbouring Georgetown to the north-west, and Mount Surprise State School in neighbouring Mount Surprise to the north-east. However, for students living in the south and east of the locality, these schools will be too distant for a daily commute. Also, there are no secondary schools nearby to Einasleigh. The alternatives are

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.

References

External links

*
Town map of Einasleigh, 1973

Town map of Kidston, 1978
{{authority control Towns in Queensland Shire of Etheridge Localities in Queensland