Eungella 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

Mackay Region The Mackay Region is a local government area located in North Queensland, Queensland, Australia. Established in 2008, it was preceded by three previous local government areas with modern histories extending back as far as 1869. It has an estimat ...

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 Eungella had a population of 190 people.

Geography

The town of Eungella sits at the top of the escarpment of the

Clarke Range The Clarke Range, part of the Great Dividing Range, is a rainforest-covered mountain range located in North Queensland, Australia. The range is located approximately from the Coral Sea and west of the coastal city of Mackay. The highest poin ...

at above sea level, falling to an elevation of in

Netherdale Netherdale is a sports complex in Galashiels, Scottish Borders, consisting of two adjacent stadiums used for rugby union and Association football, football. The rugby ground is the home of Gala RFC and was formerly used by the professional Border ...

to the immediate east. The southern branch of Cattle Creek forms on this escarpment and creates the fertile valley to the east, where it becomes a tributary of the

Pioneer River The Pioneer River is a river in North Queensland, Australia. The long river flows through the city of . History Captain John Mackay and his party were the first Europeans to discover the river in 1860. Mackay named it Mackay River after his ...

in Mirani, which eventually flows into the

Coral Sea The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia, interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down t ...

Mackay Mackay may refer to: *Clan Mackay, the Scottish clan from which the surname "MacKay" derives Mackay may also refer to: Places Australia * Mackay Region, a local government area ** Mackay, Queensland, a city in the above region *** Mackay Airport ...

. The escarpment and several other parts of the locality are within the

Eungella National Park Eungella National Park ( ; meaning "Land of the clouds") is a protected area in Queensland, Australia. It is on the Clarke Range at the end of the Pioneer Valley 80 km west of Mackay, and 858 km northwest of Brisbane. Eunge ...

, which extends into the neighbouring localities of Netherdale and Broken River and beyond. In the west and south of the locality are parts of the Crediton Forest Reserve which extends into the neighbouring localities of

Crediton Crediton is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Mid Devon district of Devon, England. It stands on the A377 road, A377 Exeter to Barnstaple road at the junction with the A3072 road to Tiverton, Devon, Tiverton, north w ...

and Eungella Dam. There is also a section of the Crediton State Forest within the locality with another section in Crediton. Due to the mountainous terrain and the protected areas, there is limited development of the land in the locality. Apart from residential use, the remaining land use is for

grazing In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to free range (roam around) and consume wild vegetations in order to feed conversion ratio, convert the otherwise indigestible (by human diges ...

on native vegetation.

History

The town takes its name from a pastoral run named by explorer and pioneer

Ernest Favenc Ernest Favenc (21 October 1845 – 14 November 1908) was an explorer of Australia, a journalist, author of verse, novels and short stories, and an historian. Personal life Favenc was born in Walworth, Surrey, England. Of Huguenot descent, he ...

in July 1876. The name is believed to be an Aboriginal word meaning ''land of cloud''. The locality was within the proclaimed boundaries of the Eungella Goldfield at the end of the 1800s and early 1900s. Access to the area was by a pack horse track or by a road via Nebo and Mount Britton. The Eungella Range Road opened in 1909. However damage had been incurred within twelve months, and repairs and a deviation instigated. In 1923 the first car traveled on the Eungella Range in wet slippery conditions, and resorted to tying a heavy

sapling In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only pla ...

behind the car to steady the car. Landslips continue to be an issue following heavy rain. Eungella Provisional School opened on circa 1891 but closed circa 1899. On 31 January 1928, another Eungella Provisional School was opened and later became Eungella State School. The Eungella Post Office was opened in 1930, but had to change its name due to another post office with the same name in

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 ...

. After twelve months of community consultation the name Dalrymple Heights Post Office, after the nearby

Mount Dalrymple Mount Dalrymple () is a mountain (3,600 m) between Mount Alf and Mount Goldthwait in the northern part of the Sentinel Range, Antarctica. It surmounts Sabazios Glacier to the north-northeast and Embree Glacier to the southeast. The mountain ...

, was found acceptable by the

Postmaster General's Department The Postmaster-General's Department (PMG) was a department of the Australian federal government, established at Federation in 1901, whose responsibilities included the provision of postal and telegraphic services throughout Australia. It was ...

Eungella was a cool retreat from the heat and humidity of the coast for picnic parties and tourists, and a venue for dances. Nineteen families from the region invested in a syndicate to build and operate the Eungella Chalet which was opened in 1933. The foundation stone of the Eungella Presbyterian Church was laid in July 1947 and it was officially opened on 23 November 1947. The church was designed to be a replica of Reverend Maitland's father's church in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. The church was damaged in March 2010 in

Cyclone Ului Severe Tropical Cyclone Ului was one of the fastest intensifying tropical cyclones on record, strengthening from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane, Category 5 equivalent cyclone within a 30-hour span in March 2010. Throughout Queen ...

and again in February 2011 in

Cyclone Yasi Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi () was a powerful and destructive tropical cyclone that made landfall in northern Queensland, Australia in early 2011, causing major damage to the affected areas. Originating as a tropical low near Fiji on 26 Janu ...

. The church was demolished in April 2011.

Demographics

In the , the locality of Eungella had a population of 194 people. In the , the locality of Eungella had a population of 190 people.

Education

Eungella State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 36 Eungella Dam Road (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 38 students with 3 teachers (2 full-time equivalent) and 9 non-teaching staff (4 full-time equivalent). There is no secondary school in Eungella. The nearest secondary school is Mirani State High School in Mirani to the east.

Amenities

Eungella Memorial Hall is at 13 North Street (). It is also known as the Eungella Hub and is managed by the Eungella District Community Association. The Eungella Uniting Church is part of the Pioneer Valley Uniting Church. The Eungella congregation meet at the Eungella Memorial Hall.

Events

The Eungella Markets are held on the first Sunday morning of every month at the Eungella Memorial Hall.

Attractions

is a popular attraction and is noted for rain forest walking trails and sightings of platypus. There are also a number of lookouts from the escarpment down the valley, including Goodes Lookout () in the town and Sky Window lookout () in the national park.

References

External links

* {{Mackay Region Mackay Region Towns in Queensland Localities in Queensland