Kuridala is a 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 Cloncurry The Shire of Cloncurry is a Local government in Australia, local government area in North West Queensland, Australia. It covers an area of , and has existed as a local government entity since 1884. The major town and administrative centre of the ...

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 contains the former mining town of the same name. In the , Kuridala had a population of 38 people.

Geography

Malbon is a town in the centre of the locality (). Ballara () is the now abandoned ruins of a settlement that supported the Wee MacGregor Mine. It is the north-west of the locality. The abandoned mining town of Kuridala is in the south of the locality (). The Cloncurry Duchess Road (part of the

Cloncurry–Dajarra Road Cloncurry–Dajarra Road is a continuous road route in the Cloncurry local government area of Queensland, Australia. It is a state-controlled district road (number 7708) rated as a local road of regional significance (LRRS). It is a north-e ...

) enters the locality from the north (

Cloncurry Cloncurry is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Cloncurry, Queensland, Australia. It is informally known by local people as The Curry. Cloncurry is the administrative centre of the Shire of Cloncurry. Cloncurry is known as the ''Friendl ...

), bypassing the town of Malbon to the west, and exiting to south-west (

Duchess Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they a ...

). The Mount Isa railway line also enters the locality from the north (Cloncurry), passes through the town of Malbon which is served by Malbon railway station, and exits to the south-west (Duchess) where it splits into two lines, one bound north-west to

Mount Isa Mount Isa ( ) is a city in the Gulf Country region of Queensland, Australia. It came into existence because of the vast mineral deposits found in the area. Mount Isa Mines (MIM) is one of the most productive mines in world history, based on co ...

and the other south to Selwyn. There are numerous railway stations along the line within the locality: * on the Mount Isa railway line (from north to south): ** Mitakoodi railway station (abandoned, ) ** Marraba railway station (abandoned, ) ** Malbon railway station () ** Kundora railway station (abandoned, ) ** Devoncourt railway station, formerly known as Macgregor Junction railway station (abandoned, ) ** Wammutta railway station () ** Dronfield railway station (abandoned, ) ** Bungalien railway station () ** Flynn railway station () * on the former Selwyn railway line: ** Pokara railway station (former, ) ** Florence railway station (former, ) ** Kuridala railway station (former, ) The predominant land use is

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 of Kuridala was originally named ''Gulatten'', then ''Hampden'', then ''Friezland'', and finally Kuridala in October 1916. Kuridala is reportedly an Aboriginal word, language and dialect not recorded, meaning ''eagle hawk''. Friezland Provisional School opened circa 1901 and closed in 1904 due to low student numbers. It reopened in 1906. On 1 January 1909, it became Friezland State School. In 1920, the school was renamed Kuridala State School in 1920. It closed circa 1932. Malbon Provisional School opened on 7 November 1911. It became Malbon State School on 1 June 1916. It closed on 8 August 1969. It was on the southern end of the town on a site on Malbon Selwyn Road (). Ballara State School opened circa May 1919 and closed circa March 1925.

Demographics

In the , Kuridala had a population of 10 people. In the , Kuridala had a population of 38 people.

Heritage listings

Kuridala has a number of

heritage-listed This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and human-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In ma ...

sites, including: * Kuridala Township, Hampden Smelter and Mining Complex *

Wee MacGregor railway Wee MacGregor railway is a heritage-listed Tramway (industrial), tramway and railway associated with the former towns of Ballara, Queensland, Ballara and Hightville, Queensland, Hightville in the locality of Kuridala, Queensland, Kuridala, Shir ...

()

Education

There are no schools in the locality. The nearest government school is Cloncurry State School (Prep to Year 12) in

to the north. However, only students living in the north-west of the locality would be close enough 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.

References

External links

* * {{Shire of Cloncurry Shire of Cloncurry Localities in Queensland