Isisford–Blackall Road is a continuous road route in the

Longreach Longreach is a rural town and locality in the Longreach Region, Queensland, Australia. It is the administrative centre of the Longreach Regional Council, which was established in 2008 as a merger of the former Longreach, Ilfracombe, and I ...

and Blackall-Tambo local government areas of

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 a state-controlled regional road (number 716), rated as a local road of regional significance (LRRS).

Route description

The road commences as St Mary Street at an intersection with the Isisford–Ilfracombe Road (known as St Cyril Street) in , in the Longreach region. It runs south-east before becoming Isisford–Blackall Road as it leaves the town. It turns north-east and then south-east until it reaches an intersection with Isisford–Emmet Road, which continues south-east. The road turns north-east and continues generally east to the locality and regional boundary, where it enters the locality of , in the Blackall-Tambo region. The road turns south-east and continues in that direction, passing the exit to Blackall–Emmet Road to the south-west, until it reaches the vicinity of the former Malvernton railway station on the now abandoned

railway line Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to road ...

. It then turns north-east to the town of Blackall, passing the exit to Blackall–Adavale Road to the south before it enters as Coronation Drive and ends at an intersection with the

Landsborough Highway Landsborough Highway is a highway in western Queensland, Australia, running in the northwest–southeast direction from Morven to Cloncurry. The Landsborough Highway runs through vast tracts of land that was once occupied by William Landsboro ...

(known as Shamrock Street). The road is two lanes wide and fully sealed. A project to rehabilitate of pavement is expected to complete in mid-2023. For travel to and from the Isisford district this road is part of the shortest route to centres along the

Warrego Highway The Warrego Highway is located in southern Queensland, Australia. It connects coastal centres to the south western areas of the state, and is approximately 715 km in length. It takes its name from the Warrego River, which is the endpoint ...

History

The Isisford region was explored in 1846 by Major Thomas Mitchell and his party.

Isis Downs Station Isis Downs Station is a pastoral lease that currently operates as a cattle station but has previously operated as a sheep station in Queensland, Australia. Location The property is situated approximately south of Ilfracombe, Queensland, I ...

was established in 1867, named for the Isis River in England. The town was established nearby and took its name from the station. The town began in 1875 and was surveyed and named in 1878. The Blackall region was also explored in 1846 by Thomas Mitchell.ADB: Mitchell, Sir Thomas Livingstone (1792 – 1855)
Retrieved 2010-5-1 In 1856,

Augustus Gregory Sir Augustus Charles Gregory (1 August 1819 – 25 June 1905) was an English-born Australian explorer and surveyor. Between 1846 and 1858 he undertook four major expeditions. He was the first Surveyor-General of Queensland. He was appointed a ...

passed through the area noting that the landscape was a vast plain lacking vegetation, in contrast to Mitchell's description of good country. Blackall was named by Surveyor Abraham H. May after Sir

Samuel Blackall Samuel Wensley Blackall (1 May 1809 – 2 January 1871) was an Irish soldier and politician, who was the second Governor of Queensland from 1868 until he died in office in 1871. Early life Blackall was born in Dublin, Ireland into a prospero ...

, the second

Governor of Queensland The governor of Queensland is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in the state of Queensland. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia, governor-general at the national level, the governor Governors of ...

. During the 1860s Blackall developed as a service centre for the surrounding

pastoral The pastoral genre of literature, art, or music depicts an idealised form of the shepherd's lifestyle – herding livestock around open areas of land according to the seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. The target au ...

properties. A survey of town allotments was conducted in 1868. The dominant industry in the area is grazing with over 70 homesteads reported to be in the district in 2020. A substantial number of these properties are adjacent to or accessed from Isisford–Blackall Road. One such property is Athol Station, which was sold in 2018 for $23 million.

Other roads

The following state-controlled district roads, each rated as a local road of regional significance (LRRS), intersect with the Isisford–Blackall Road:

Blackall–Adavale Road

This road starts at an intersection with the Isisford–Blackall Road in Blackall. It runs south-west for to , where it becomes the Quilpie–Adavale Road.

Isisford–Emmet Road

This road starts at an intersection with the Isisford–Blackall Road in Isisford. It runs south for to , where it becomes the Emmet–Highlands Road.

Isisford–Ilfracombe Road

This road starts at an intersection with the Isisford–Blackall Road in Isisford. It runs north for to , where it ends at an intersection with the

Major intersections

All distances are from Google Maps.

References

{{Road infrastructure in Queensland Roads in Queensland