Richmond is a rural town and

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localities (Australia), in which a locality is a geographic subdivis ...

in the

Shire of Richmond The Shire of Richmond is a Local government in Australia, local government area in north western Queensland, Australia. It covers an area of , and has existed as a local government entity since 1916. It is part of the Gulf Country. History ' ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia. In the , the locality of Richmond had a population of 648 people. It is the administrative centre of the

Toponymy

The origin of the name Richmond comes from when Arthur Bundock and Walter Hayes took up land in the district which they named the Richmond Downs Pastoral Run. It was named after the

Richmond River The Richmond River is a river situated in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia. Course and features The river rises at the northern end of the Richmond Range, near its junction with the McPherson Range, on the Queensl ...

in northern

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

which was where Bundock had been born.

Geography

The town is west of

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

and east of

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 single mines in world history, bas ...

. The Flinders Highway traverses the locality from east to west passing through the town which is located in about the centre of the locality. The Great Northern railway runs immediately south and parallel to the highway through the east of the locality, crossing over in the town which is served by the Richmond railway station, and then the railway runs immediately north and parallel to the highway through the west of the locality. There is a second railway station, the Moselle railway on the far eastern edge of the locality, named after the pastoral run, which in turn was named in about the 1870s by pastoralist J.B. Brodie after the

Moselle River The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblen ...

in eastern France. The

Flinders River The Flinders River is the longest river in Queensland, Australia, at approximately . It was named in honour of the explorer Matthew Flinders. The catchment is sparsely populated and mostly undeveloped. The Flinders rises on the western slopes ...

flows through the locality from east to west, passing to the west of the town, where the river has its confluence with its tributary Dutton River. The Richmond–Croydon Road exits to the north-west, and the

Richmond–Winton Road Richmond–Winton Road is a continuous road route in the Richmond and Winton local government areas of Queensland, Australia. It is a state-controlled district road (number 5803) rated as a local road of regional significance (LRRS). It is p ...

to the south-west.

History

''Jirandali'' (also known as ''Yirandali'', ''Warungu'', and ''Yirandhali'') 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 ...

of North-West Queensland, particularly the

Hughenden Hughenden may refer to: *Hughenden, Queensland, a town in Australia *Hughenden, Alberta, a village in central Alberta, Canada *Hughenden Valley Hughenden Valley (formerly called Hughenden or Hitchendon) is an extensive village and civil parish in ...

area. The language region includes the local government area of the Shire of Flinders, including

Dutton River Dutton River is a rural locality in the Flinders Shire, Queensland, Australia. In the , Dutton River had a population of 33 people. Geography The ''Flinders River'' flows through from south-east to south-west. ''Dutton River'' (the watercours ...

, Mount Sturgeon,

Caledonia Caledonia (; ) was the Latin name used by the Roman Empire to refer to the part of Great Britain () that lies north of the River Forth, which includes most of the land area of Scotland. Today, it is used as a romantic or poetic name for all ...

, Richmond, Corfield, Winton, Torrens, Tower Hill, Landsborough Creek, Lammermoor Station, Hughenden, and

Tangorin Tangorin is a rural town and locality in the Flinders Shire, Queensland, Australia. In the the locality of Tangorin had a population of 58 people. Indigenous language Jirandali (also known as Yirandali, Warungu, Yirandhali) is an Australia ...

. '' Wanamarra'' (also known as ''Maykulan'' and ''Wunumura'' is an Australian Aboriginal language in

North West Queensland The Gulf Country is the region of woodland and savanna grassland surrounding the Gulf of Carpentaria in north western Queensland and eastern Northern Territory on the north coast of Australia. The region is also called the Gulf Savannah. It ...

. The language region includes areas within the Shire of McKinlay,

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 ...

and

, including the

area, and the towns of

Kynuna Kynuna is an outback town in the Shire of McKinlay and a locality split between the Shire of McKinlay and the Shire of Winton in Queensland, Australia. In the the locality of Kynuna had a population of 55 people. Geography Kynuna is on the ban ...

and Richmond. The explorer

William Landsborough William Landsborough (21 February 1825 – 16 March 1886) was an explorer of Australia and notably he was the first explorer to complete a North-to-South crossing of Australia. He was a member of the Queensland Legislative Council. Early ...

camped at the site that would become the town of Richmond on 13 March 1862. Explorer and former Commandant of the

Native Police Australian native police units, consisting of Aboriginal troopers under the command (usually) of at least one white officer, existed in various forms in all Australian mainland colonies during the nineteenth and, in some cases, into the twentie ...

, Frederick Walker, had previously passed through the area in October 1861, naming and camping on the Dutton River. Both the Landsborough and Walker parties were attempting to locate the

Burke and Wills expedition The Burke and Wills expedition was organised by the Royal Society of Victoria in Australia in 1860–61. It consisted of 19 men led by Robert O'Hara Burke and William John Wills, with the objective of crossing Australia from Melbourne in the ...

. The town was originally known as Richmond Downs after the nearby pastoral run called Richmond Downs, which in turn was named in 1864 because two of the leaseholders Walter Hays and Arthur Bundock came from the

. In 1880, gold was found at Woolgar to the north and Richmond became an important stagecoach stop en route to Woolgar. The town was surveyed on 9 December 1882 by surveyor Joseph Hargreaves with town lots sold from April 1883. In May 1899, the name was changed from Richmond Downs to Richmond. Richmond Provisional School opened on 22 May 1889 with 23 pupils, becoming Richmond State School on 27 February 1902 when it had 113 pupils. StateLibQld 2 202091 Official opening of the Hughenden to Richmond railway line, 1904

StateLibQld 2 202091 Official opening of the Hughenden to Richmond railway line, 1904

The Great Northern railway reached the town in June 1904. At the official celebration on 2 June 1904, it was explained that the line was the first to be built by cheaper methods by replacing the

track ballast Track ballast forms the trackbed upon which railroad ties (sleepers) are laid. It is packed between, below, and around the ties. It is used to bear the load from the railroad ties, to facilitate drainage of water, and also to keep down vegetat ...

with packed earth, but the cost saving was at the expense of train speed, which was expected to be 15 miles per hour. It was hoped that cheaper methods would allow more pastoral areas to be serviced by rail with an immediate desire to connect through to

Cloncurry Cloncurry is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Cloncurry, Queensland, Australia. In the the locality of Cloncurry had a population of 2,719 people. Cloncurry is the administrative centre of the Shire of Cloncurry. Cloncurry is known as ...

. The

Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart The Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart, often called the Josephites or Brown Joeys, are a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Mary MacKillop (1842–1909). Members of the congregation use the postnominal initials RSJ (Religious Sist ...

opened a Catholic primary school in 1915. The Richmond Public Library was opened in 1996. At the , Richmond had a population of 554. In the 2011 census, Richmond had a population of 522 people. St John the Baptist Anglican Church Complex (2014)

St John the Baptist Anglican Church Complex (2014)

In the , the locality of Richmond had a population of 648 people.

Heritage listings

Richmond has a number of

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

sites, including: * 55 Crawford Street: St John the Baptist Anglican Church Complex (Constructed in 1909).

Economy

Traditionally, the two biggest industries in Richmond are sheep- and cattle-farming, however tourism is an increasingly important aspect of the local economy. In addition to being a major transit stop on the Flinders Highway, recent

paleontological Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (geology), epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes t ...

discoveries have unearthed the fossils of prehistoric marine creatures, some of which are on display in Richmond. Richmond, Queensland - Dinosaur Museum

Facilities

Richmond has a golf course, bowling club, swimming facilities, race course, caravan park, tourist information centre and a fossil museum named

Kronosaurus ''Kronosaurus'' ( ; meaning "lizard of Kronos") is a potentially dubious genus of extinct short-necked pliosaur. With an estimated length of , it was among the largest pliosaurs, and is named after the leader of the Greek Titans, Kronos. It ...

Korner. Associated with the Korner is the Cambridge Downs Heritage Display Centre, a replica of the original Cambridge Downs Homestead built in the late 1860s. The Richmond Shire Council operates a public library in Richmond at 76 Goldring Street. The Richmond branch of the

Queensland Country Women's Association The Queensland Country Women's Association (QCWA) is the Queensland chapter of the Country Women's Association in Australia. The association seeks to serve the interests of women and children in rural areas in Australia through a network of loca ...

has its rooms at 74 Goldring Street.

Education

Richmond State School is a government primary and secondary (Prep-10) school for boys and girls at 88 Crawford Street (). In 2016, the school had an enrolment of 78 students with 10 teachers and 12 non-teaching staff (7 full-time equivalent). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 84 students with 12 teachers and 13 non-teaching staff (8 full-time equivalent). There is no school in Richmond providing education to Year 12; the nearest such school is Hughenden State School in

to the east. However, given the distances involved, other options are

distance education Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually in ...

and boarding schools.

Climate

Richmond has a hot

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...

bordering on a

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

temperature regime.

Transport

*See Richmond Airport

References

External links

Richmond Shire Council

University of Queensland: Queensland Places: Richmond and Richmond ShireTravelmate - Richmond, Queensland

Town map of Richmond, 1973
{{authority control Towns in Queensland Shire of Richmond Localities in Queensland