Gilbert River is an outback rural

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 The Shire of Etheridge is a Local government in Australia, local government area in Far North Queensland, Australia in what is known as the Savannah Gulf region. Its economy is based on cattle grazing and mining. It covers an area of , and has ...

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 , Gilbert River had a population of 32 people.

Geography

The locality is roughly bounded to the south by the

Gregory Range The Gregory Range is a mountain range in Far North Queensland, Australia. Location and features Part of the Great Dividing Range, the Gregory Range lies southeast of and southwest of . The range is located in an area of ephemeral watercourses ...

() which extends into neighbouring

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

, Esmeralda and Northhead and beyond. Gilbert River has the following mountains: * Brennans Knob in the south-west of the locality () at above sea level * Mount Little in the centre of the locality () at above sea level The Gilbert River from which the locality derives its name enters the locality from the east ( Georgetown) and exits to the north ( Strathmore), ultimately flowing into the

Gulf of Carpentaria The Gulf of Carpentaria is a sea off the northern coast of Australia. It is enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea, which separates Australia and New Guinea. The northern boundary ...

to the north. The

Gulf Developmental Road Gulf Developmental Road is an Australian highway linking the Cairns, Queensland, Cairns and Normanton, Queensland, Normanton regions in northern Queensland, Australia. It is the only sealed (Asphalt concrete, asphalt) road linking these two reg ...

(part of National Route 1) enters the locality from the east (Georgetown), crosses the Gilbert River on A. J. Bond Bridge (), and exits to the west (

). The

Richmond–Croydon Road Richmond–Croydon Road is a continuous road route in the Richmond, Croydon and Etheridge local government areas of Queensland, Australia. It is part of the shortest route from the / area to and . It is also part of the inland freight ne ...

(known locally as Richmond Road) enters the locality from the south-west ( Esmeralda) and exits to the west (Croydon). The western part of the locality is a protected area being within the

Littleton National Park Littleton may refer to: Places In Ireland: *Littleton, County Tipperary, a village * Littleton (electoral division) in County Tipperary In the United Kingdom: *Littleton, Cheshire, a village * Littleton, Hampshire, a village * Littleton, Somer ...

and the Littleton Resources Reserve. The remainder of the land is used 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 with a small amount of

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Types of pasture Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, c ...

around the Gilbert River.

History

Jangga, also known as Yangga, is a language of

Central Queensland Central Queensland is an imprecisely-defined geographical division of Queensland ( a state in Australia) that centres on the eastern coast, around the Tropic of Capricorn. Its major regional centre is Rockhampton. The region extends from the Cap ...

. The Jangga language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Etheridge Shire Council. The locality takes its name from the Gilbert River which flows through the locality. Gilbert River Provisional School opened on 8 May 1899. On 1 January 1909 it became Gilbert River State School. It closed in 1923. It reopened in 1954 and then closed in 1961.

Demographics

In the , Gilbert River had a population of 38 people. In the , Gilbert River had a population of 32 people.

Economy

There are a number of homesteads in the locality, including: * Chadshunt () * Inorunie () * Lake Calo () * Rockfields ()

Education

There are no schools in Gilbert River. The nearest government secondary school is Croydon State School in neighbouring

to the west, but it would be too distant for a daily commute for students living in the eastern parts of Gilbert River. Also, thare no secondary schools nearby. 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.

Transport

Littleton Airstrip (also known as Inorunie) is an airstrip just inside the national park and immediately south of the Inorunie homestead ().

References

{{Shire of Etheridge Shire of Etheridge Localities in Queensland