Hebel (pronounced ''he-bell'') is a rural town and locality 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. It 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 ...

and

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 Hebel had a population of 62 people.

Geography

Hebel is in south-west Queensland situated north of the border with

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 ...

. It is the eastern corner of the locality. The Bokhara River (a non-

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

river) enters the locality from the east (Dirranbandi) and flows past the immediate north of the town and exits the locality to the south ( Goodooga in New South Wales). It is part of the Murray-Darling River system. In the west of the locality is the Culgoa River and the Culgoa Floodplain National Park (), which extends into neighbouring Jobs Gate. There are a number of homesteads in the locality: * Balgi () * Ballandool () * Byra () * Currawillinghi () * Davirton () * Goonaroo () * Kinglebilla () * Koala () * Morley () * Tara () * Yattenbury ()

History

Yuwaalaraay (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 in

.' 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 Yuwaalaraay 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 extending to

and the Narran Lakes in New South Wales.' The town was reputedly named after a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

immigrant Noble Van Hebel. Hebel helped stage the coaches for Cobb and Co. Curriwillinghi Post Office opened on 1 January 1864 (named after the Curriwillinghi pastoral station, which still exists as at 2020 at ). Circa 1886, Hebel was established as a border township with a border customs post, east of Curriwillinghi pastoral station. In 1889, the Curriwillinghi Post Office was replaced by the Hebel Post Office. In 1897 a dance hall was built. It is now the general store. Hebel Provisional School opened on 11 April 1901. On 1 January 1909, it became Hebel State School. The Hebel Post office closed in 1989. During 2020 and 2021, the Queensland border was closed 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 ...

. Some border crossing points had

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 ...

checkpoints to confirm eligibility to enter Queensland, while other border crossing points were closed. At Hebel, there was a police border checkpoint on the Castlereagh Highway. The border crossing on the Hebel Goodooga Road was closed by the Balonne Shire Council building an earth wall across the road, although many local people doubted its effectiveness as a barrier to entry. Hebel was the feature of ABC Back Roads Series 8, Episode 11; it was aired on 25 July 2022.

Demographics

In the , the locality of Hebel and the surrounding area had a population of 149 people. In the , the locality of Hebel had a population of 67 people. In the , the locality of Hebel had a population of 62 people.

Education

Hebel State School is a government primary (Preparatory to Year 6) school for boys and girls in Maud Street (). In 2015, it had an enrolment of eleven students with two teachers (one full-time equivalent) and five non-teaching staff (two full-time equivalent). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of seven students with one teacher and five non-teaching staff (2 full-time equivalent). However, students living in the west of Hebel would be too distant for a daily commute; 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. There is no secondary school in Hebel. The nearest secondary school is Dirranbandi State School (to Year 10) in Dirranbandi to the north-east and St George State High School (to Year 12) in

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-east. Again, these schools are too distant for most Hebel students to attend; the alternatives are

and boarding school.

Amenities

Balonne Shire Council operates a library in William Street. Hebel Community Hall is at 40–50 William Street (). Hebel Racecourse is a reserve west of Henry Street (). Hebel Cemetery is on the south-east edge of the town (). Hebel has a general store, caravan park, hotel, and coffee shop.

Transport

There are a number of airstrips in the locality: * Balgi airstrip () * Ballandool airstrip () *Brenda airstrip () *Byra airstrip () *Davirton airstrip () *Hebel airstrip ()

Attractions

The front of the Hebel Hotel featured brightly coloured art work by John Murray, which the interior furnishings are made of recycled items found in the bush. The Hebel Historical Circle is a walk around the town illustrates places of historic interest. The general store is also a cafe and restaurant; it retains its original dance floor. Bokhara River Campground is a site on James Street on the north side of town ().

Gallery

File:AU-Qld-Hebel-general store-2021.jpg, General store, Castlereagh Highway (2021). File:AU-Qld-Hebel-community hall-2021.jpg, Community Hall, William Street (2021). File:AU-Qld-Hebel-library-2021.jpg, Local library (2021). File:AU-Qld-Hebel-state school-2021.jpg, Hebel State School (2021). File:AU-Qld-Hebel-state school oval-2021.jpg, Hebel State School oval (2021). File:AU-Qld-Hebel-Bicentennial Park-2021.jpg, Hebel Bicentennial Park, William Street (2021). File:AU-Qld-Hebel-historical circle-2021.jpg, Hebel Historical Circle, in the Bicentennial Park (2021). File:AU-Qld-Hebel-example information panel-2021.jpg, Historical Circle information panel example (2021). File:AU-Qld-Hebel-barbwire street art-2021.jpg, Artwork made from barbwire, of a person pushing a wheelbarrow, with a dog (2021). File:AU-Qld-Hebel-road south-west-2021.jpg, Hebel-Goodooga Road going south-west (2021).

References

External links

* {{authority control Towns in Queensland Shire of Balonne Localities in Queensland