Karara () 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

Southern Downs Region The Southern Downs Region is a local government area (LGA) in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia. The region runs along the state's southern boundary with New South Wales and was created in 2008 from a merger of the Shire of War ...

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 Karara had a population of 128 people.

Geography

The town is on the

Darling Downs The Darling Downs is a farming region on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland, Australia. The Downs are to the west of South East Queensland and are one of the major regions of Queensland. The name was generally ...

on the

Cunningham Highway The Cunningham Highway is a National Highway (Australia), national highway located in South East Queensland, south-eastern Queensland, Australia. The highway links the Darling Downs region with the urbanised outskirts of Ipswich, Queensland, I ...

, south west of the state capital,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

. The highway passes through the locality from the east to the south-west. The Toowoomba–Karara Road ( State Route 48) connects the highway through to the north of the locality to

Leyburn Leyburn is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, sitting above the northern bank of the River Ure in Wensleydale. Historic counties of England, Historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire, the name was derived from 'Ley' ...

and ultimately through to

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( ), nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar', is a city on the border of South East Queensland and Darling Downs regions of Queensland, Australia. It is located west of Queensland's capital, Brisbane. The urban population of Toowoom ...

. The South Western railway line passes through the locality roughly parallel and to the north of the highway with the locality served by two railway stations: * Durikai railway station, now abandoned () * Karara railway station, serving the town (). Both the line and Karara railway station are no longer in active use. The Durakai State Forest occupies the southern and eastern areas within the locality; otherwise it is freehold land predominantly used for farming apart from a small urban centre. There are a number of creeks running south to north through the locality which is in the

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

of the

Condamine River The Condamine River, part of the Balonne catchment that is part of the Murray-Darling Basin, drains the northern portion of the Darling Downs, an area of sub-coastal southern Queensland, Australia. The river is approximately 500 kilometres (3 ...

History

The name ''Karara'' is believed to be an Aboriginal name for Canal Creek. The South Western railway line from

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

to Karara was opened in 1904. Karara State School opened on 20 July 1908. Karara Post Office opened on 1 July 1927 (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 1909) and closed in 1990.

Demographics

In the , the locality of Karara and the surrounding area had a population of 140 people. In the , the locality of Karara had a population of 278 people. In the , the locality of Karara had a population of 123 people. In the , the locality of Karara had a population of 128 people.

Amenities

The

Southern Downs Regional Council The Southern Downs Region is a local government area (LGA) in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia. The region runs along the state's southern boundary with New South Wales and was created in 2008 from a merger of the Shire of War ...

operates a mobile library service which visits the Recreation Reserve. The Karara branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association meets at the Karara Public Hall at 33 School Street.

Education

Karara State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at Karara School Road (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 5 students with 3 teachers (2 full-time equivalent) and 5 non-teaching staff (1 full-time equivalent). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 8 students with 2 teachers (1 full-time equivalent) and 5 non-teaching staff (2 full-time equivalent). There are no secondary schools in Karara. The nearest government secondary schools are Warwick State High School (to Year 12) in

to the east, Inglewood State School (to Year 10) in Inglewood to the south-west, Millmerran State School (to Year 10) in

Millmerran Millmerran , known as Domville between 1 June 1889 and 16 November 1894, is a town and a Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Millmerran had a population of 1,545 p ...

to the north-west,

Clifton State High School Clifton is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Clifton had a population of 1,490 people. Geography Clifton is a town in the Darling Downs. Th ...

(to Year 12) in Clifton to the north-east, and Allora State School (to Year 10) in Allora to the north-east.

References

External links

Town map of Karara, 1964
{{authority control Towns in Queensland Southern Downs Region Towns in the Darling Downs Localities in Queensland