Marathon 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 Flinders Shire,

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. Although the town has existed since , the locality was created in November 2021.

Geography

The Great Northern railway line passes through the locality, entering from the east (

Hughenden Hughenden may refer to: *Hughenden, Queensland, a town in Australia * Hughenden, Alberta, a village in central Alberta, Canada *Hughenden Valley, a village in Buckinghamshire, England *Hughenden Manor, a mansion in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, Eng ...

) and exiting to the west (

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

) with the locality served by the following railway stations (from east to west): * Boree railway station in the east of the locality () * Marathon railway station, serving the town () * Barabon railway station in far west of the locality () The Flinders Highway runs parallel and immediately north of the railway line with two exceptions, at Marathon railway station and Barabon railway station, where it bypasses further north. The town is in the west of the locality. The town never developed. It lies between the Flinders Highway and the Marathon railway station.

History

The name Marathon derives from the pastoral run name first used by the lessees in 1863, at the suggestion of William Lempriere Frederick Sheaffe, the Commissioner of Crown Lands Kennedy District, using a Greek historical name. The town of Marathon first appears on a 1916 survey plan. The Great Northern railway line from

Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...

reached Marathon on 15 December 1903. The speed on the line was limited to . Before 19 November 2021, the town of Marathon was within the locality of Stamford. However, this arrangement caused confusion, so on 19 November 2021, a new locality of Marathon was created around the town, excising the land from the localities of

Dutton River Dutton River is a rural locality in the Flinders Shire, Queensland, Australia. In the , Dutton River had a population of 66 people. Geography The ''Flinders River'' flows through from south-east to south-west. ''Dutton River'' (the watercour ...

and Stamford.

Education

There are no schools in Marathon. For students living in the east of the locality, Hughenden State School in neighbouring Hughenden to the east offers primary education and secondary education to Year 10. For students living in the west of the locality, Richmond State School in neighbouring Richmond to the west offers primary education and secondary education to Year 10. For students living in other parts of the locality, the options 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 school in the vicinity offering secondary schooling to Year 12; again, the options would be distance education and boarding school.

References

{{authority control Towns in Queensland Shire of Flinders (Queensland) Localities in Queensland