Tolga 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
Tablelands Region
The Tablelands Region is a Local government in Australia, local government area in Far North Queensland, Australia inland from the city of Cairns, Queensland, Cairns. Established in 2008, it was preceded by four previous local government areas ...
,
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 Tolga had a population of 3,177 people.
[
It is the centre of the region's peanut industry and is home to the Big Peanut ().
]
Geography
Tolga is located on the Atherton Tableland
The Atherton Tableland is a fertile plateau, which is part of the Great Dividing Range in Queensland, Australia. It has very deep, rich basaltic soils and the main industry is agriculture. The principal river flowing across the plateau is the B ...
. The Kennedy Highway
The Kennedy Highway is a highway in northern Queensland, Australia. It runs as National Route 1 for approximately 243 km from Smithfield, on the northern outskirts of Cairns, to the Gulf Developmental Road in the vicinity of Forty Mile Sc ...
traverses the locality from the north-west to the south of the locality, passing through the town which is in the southern part of the locality. To the north-west of the town is a large residential development which is marketed under the names of Tandara, Rangeview and Panorama Views.
Mapee is a neighbourhood within the centre of the locality (). Yadjin is a neighbourhood in the south-east of the locality ().
The Barron River forms the north-east boundary of the locality. The south-western boundary of the locality is the Great Dividing Range
The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills. It runs roughl ...
which creates the drainage divide
A drainage divide, water divide, ridgeline, watershed, water parting or height of land is elevated terrain that separates neighboring drainage basins. On rugged land, the divide lies along topographical ridges, and may be in the form of a single ...
that separates 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 Barron River (which flows to the Coral Sea
The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia, interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down t ...
) from that of the Mitchell River Mitchell River may refer to:
Australia
*Mitchell River (Queensland)
*Mitchell River (Victoria)
*Mitchell River (Western Australia)
*Mann River (New South Wales) is sometimes referred to as Mitchell River.
Canada
*Mitchell River (Cross River)
*Mit ...
(which flows to the Gulf of Carpentaria
The Gulf of Carpentaria is a sea off the northern coast of Australia. It is enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea, which separates Australia and New Guinea. The northern boundary ...
).
The northern and eastern parts of Tolga are relatively flat land used for growing crops. The western parts are more mountainous (creating the drainage divide) and are mostly undeveloped. Bones Knob is a peak to the west of the town () at above sea level.
The Tolga Scrub on the southern side of town (within the locality of Atherton, ) is one of the last remaining areas of Mabi rainforest
Mabi forests (also known as Complex Notophyll Vine Forests) are a type of ecological community found in the Australian state of Queensland which is considered to be critically endangered and which consists of remnant patches found only either ...
on the Atherton Tableland. It is the most drought resistant type of rainforest in Australia. The Tolga Scrub is long and 100 metres wide.
History
Bones Knob is thought to be named after a young Aboriginal man known as "Bones", mention in a letter written in February 1879 by Alexander Douglas of the Native Mounted Police to Inspector Stuart of the Queensland Police
The Queensland Police Service (QPS) is the principal law enforcement agency responsible for policing the Australian state of Queensland. In 1990, the Queensland Police Force was officially renamed the Queensland Police Service and the old motto ...
.
The town was originally called Martin Town after sawmillers George and Robert Martin, and grew out of a Cobb and Co
Cobb & Co was the name used by several independent Australian coach businesses. The first company to use 'Cobb & Co' was established in 1853 by American Freeman Cobb and his partners. The name grew to great prominence in the late 19th century ...
staging post at Rocky Creek.
Martintown Provisional School opened on 10 October 1895. It was renamed Tolga Provisional School in 1905. On 1 January 1909, it became Tolga State School. The school celebrated its centenary in 1995.
The town's name was changed to Tolga in 1903 when Tablelands railway line
The Tablelands railway line is a railway line in North Queensland, Australia. It was opened in a series of sections between 1887 and 1916. It commences at Cairns and at its maximum extent, reached Ravenshoe at the southern end of the ...
was extended from Mareeba
Mareeba is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Mareeba in Far North Queensland, Australia. Between 2008 and 2013, it was within the Tablelands Region. The town's name is derived from an Aboriginal word meaning ''meeting of the water ...
to Atherton and the local railway station was to be called ''Tolga'', a name thought to be derived from the Aboriginal word for either ''place where the scrub begins'' or ''red volcanic soil''. The line opened on 10 August 1903. A branch line from Tolga to Yungaburra
Yungaburra is a rural town and locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Yungaburra had a population of 1,272 people.
Geography
Yungaburra is on the Atherton Tableland in Far North Queensland.
The ...
was built, opening on 15 March 1910, which was subsequently extended in stages to Millaa Millaa by 19 December 1921. The line between Atherton and Mareeba became non-operational on 1 July 2011 and was officially closed on 15 March 2013. Tolga railway station was between the Kennedy Highway and Lawson Street ().
Mapee takes its name from its railway station, assigned by the Queensland Railways Department
Queensland Rail (QR) is a railway operator in Queensland, Australia. Queensland Rail is owned by the Queensland Government, and operates both suburban and interurban rail services in South East Queensland, as well as long-distance passenger t ...
on 11 January 1915. It is an Aboriginal word meaning ''tree kangaroo''.
Yadjin takes its name from its railway station name, assigned by the Queensland Railways Department on 26 June 1922, an Aboriginal word meaning ''grass pocket''.
During World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
in 1943 the Australian Army established their largest storage and repair centre to the west of the town centred on Griffin Road and Tate Road to support the War in the Pacific
The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...
. It was known as the 13 Australian Advanced Ordnance Depot and was operated by the Royal Australian Army Ordnance Corps
The Royal Australian Army Ordnance Corps (RAAOC) is the Corps within the Australian Army concerned with supply and administration, as well as the demolition and disposal of explosives and salvage of battle-damaged equipment. The Corps contains c ...
under the command of lieutenant colonel LW Gale with a staff of about 1000 including 200 from the Australian Women's Army Service
The Australian Women's Army Service (AWAS) was a non-medical women's service established in Australia during the Second World War. Raised on 13 August 1941 to "release men from certain military duties for employment in fighting units" the serv ...
. The complex had about 150 buildings, including 18 large igloo storage shed. The complex stored, repaired and maintained Army vehicles and vehicle parts, weapons and ammunition, and clothing.
Most buildings on the site were removed in 1946 after the war had ended with one building being relocated to the Atherton Hospital for the use 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 ...
. On Friday 29 November 1946, three Army personnel were working to remove cordite from the shells in the ammunition dump when the cordite ignited in a blinding flash. The three men were severely burned in the explosion but managed to crawl over a mile to their headquarters. Although they were rushed to the Atheron hospital, the three men died and were buried at the Atherton War Cemetery.
Demographics
In the , the town of Tolga had a population of 843 people.
In the , the locality of Tolga had a population of 2,426 people.
In the , the locality of Tolga had a population of 2,718 people.
In the , the locality of Tolga had a population of 3,177 people.
Heritage listings
Tolga 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:
* Bones Knob Radar Station, Bowcock Road
* Rocky Creek World War Two Hospital Complex, Kennedy Highway
Education
Tolga State School is a government primary (Prep–6) school for boys and girls at Main Street (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 328 students with 24 teachers (20 full-time equivalent) and 17 non-teaching staff (10 full-time equivalent). In 2023, the school had an enrolment of 316 students with 24 teachers (21 full-time equivalent) and 15 non-teaching staff (11 full-time equivalent).
There is no government secondary school in Tolga. The nearest government secondary school is Atherton State High School in neighbouring Atherton to the south.
There are also non-government schools in Atherton.
Community groups
The Tolga 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 ...
meets at the QCWA Hall at 60 Main Street ().
Events
Tolga Markets are held at the Tolga Racecourse from 7am to 12pm on the first Sunday of each month. Local produce, hand crafted items, clothing, tools and food are commonly found for sale. It is considered the second most popular market held on the Atherton Tableland, only slightly smaller than the Yungaburra
Yungaburra is a rural town and locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Yungaburra had a population of 1,272 people.
Geography
Yungaburra is on the Atherton Tableland in Far North Queensland.
The ...
Markets.
References
External links
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{{authority control
Populated places in Far North Queensland
Towns in Queensland
Tablelands Region
Localities in Queensland