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Wandoan is a 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
Western Downs Region Western Downs Region is a Local government in Australia, local government area in Queensland, Australia. The Western Downs Regional Council manages an area of , which is slightly smaller than Switzerland, although with a population of 34,467 ...
,
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 was formerly known as Juandah. It is on the
Leichhardt Highway The Leichhardt Highway is a major transport route in Queensland, Australia. It is a continuation northward from Goondiwindi of the Newell Highway, via a section of the Cunningham Highway. It runs northward from Goondiwindi for more than 600 k ...
about halfway between
Taroom Taroom is a town in the Shire of Banana and suburbs and localities (Australia), locality split between the Shire of Banana and the Western Downs Region in Queensland, Australia. In the , Taroom had a population of 885 people. Geography The t ...
and
Miles The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of length; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English f ...
and is the centre for the local cattle industry. In the , the locality of Wandoan had a population of 666 people.


History

The beginnings of the Wandoan township can be traced back to 1849 when 'Juandah' Station was established at this location after Herbert Salway and Percival Sydney Francis Stephen first tendered for a huge area of land: ''Juandah'' of and two other runs ''Coringa'' of and ''Cherwondah'' of . This area, defined in accordance with the 1847 Orders-in-Council, falls far short of the actual size of the holding, which has been estimated at —five and a half times as much. The aggregation of these three runs became known as ''Juandah'' and records show Percival Stephen was living on ''Juandah'' before August 1849. After the Hornet Bank massacre in October 1857, one of the many reprisals against Aboriginal people in the area included the Juandah massacre. Frederick Walker wrote to the Colonial Secretary of Queensland describing how after a number of aboriginals were declared innocent of involvement at Hornet Bank by a bench of magistrates at Juandah, local whites proceeded to murder them. Some were shot on the verandah of the magistrate's residence and others in the kitchen. Two aboriginals were kept alive in order to bury the corpses and once this was done, one of them was shot and the other was spared as "possibly the supply of cartridges was running short". A wayside hotel was built there in the 1890s, and by the end of the nineteenth century the hotel was well established and a township was formed.Juandah Provisional School opened on 30 October 1911. It became a State School on 1 March 1916. Due to low student numbers, it closed in 1922 but reopened in 1923. In 1924, it was renamed Wandoan State School in 1924. A secondary department was added in 1961. The railway to Miles opened on 16 December 1914. Juandah was named Wandoan in 1926 to avoid confusion with
Jundah Jundah is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Shire of Barcoo, Queensland, Australia. Jundah is the administrative centre of the Shire of Barcoo, Barcoo Shire local government area. In the , the locality of Junda ...
near
Longreach Longreach is a rural town and locality in the Longreach Region, Queensland, Australia. It is the administrative centre of the Longreach Regional Council, which was established in 2008 as a merger of the former Longreach, Ilfracombe, and I ...
. After
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 ...
, land around Wandoan was used for
soldier settlement Soldier settlement was the settlement of land throughout parts of Australia by returning discharged soldiers under soldier settlement schemes administered by state governments after World War I and World War II. The post-World War II settlement ...
s through ballots in the 1950s. The Wandoan Library opened in 1987.The Wandoan War Memorial is in front of the Community Culture Centre on Henderson Street and commemorates Australians who served in all wars. There are plaques for individual wars on the wall behind the memorial. The monument was dedicated on 25 April (
Anzac Day Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia, New Zealand and Tonga that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and ...
) 1993.


Demographics


Economy

The town's economy is traditionally based on agriculture, including wheat, sorgum and cattle. The townscale is visually dominated by the grain silos near the railway station. However, mining for coal and gas are growing industries, increasing the population and facilities in Wandoan.


Tourism

The following are features of interest in Wandoan: * the local Heritage Trail leads to 23 points of interest, including the Juandah site and the Waterloo Plains Environmental Park with its lakes, picnic areas and water birds * the 'Wandoan Windmill' at the town entrance on the Highway across from a colourful
mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...
painted on the town's main water tank. * a mural depicting local history in the Community Cultural Centre on a huge piece of local sandstone. * the Wandoan Races:
horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...
meetings held once or twice every year. * Wandoan Unlicensed Airport is away. The Wandoan Information Centre on Royd Street provides information for visitors. It is housed in a former railway station building and is easily spotted by the large windmill beside it.


Education

Wandoan State School P-10 is a government primary and secondary (Prep-10) school for boys and girls at 49 North Street (). In 2016, the school had an enrolment of 86 students with 13 teachers (12 full-time equivalent) and 10 non-teaching staff (7 full-time equivalent). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 70 students with 13 teachers (12 full-time equivalent) and 10 non-teaching staff (7 full-time equivalent). There are no schools offering schooling to Year 12 in or nearby Wandoan. 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.


Amenities

Western Downs Regional Council Western Downs Region is a local government area in Queensland, Australia. The Western Downs Regional Council manages an area of , which is slightly smaller than Switzerland, although with a population of 34,467 in June 2018, it is over 228 ti ...
operates the Wandoan Community Cultural Centre at 6 Henderson Road (). It includes a public hall used for meetings and entertainment and a public library. St Joseph's Catholic Church is on the corner of East and Hamlyn Streets. It is within the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Toowoomba The Roman Catholic Diocese of Toowoomba: is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Brisbane, established in 1929, covering the Darling Downs and south west regions of Queensland, Australia. St Patrick's Cathedral is the seat of the Cathol ...
. The Wandoan Presbyterian Church is in Moore Street. It is part of the
Presbyterian Church of Queensland The Presbyterian Church of Australia (PCA), founded in 1901, is the largest Presbyterian and Reformed denomination in Australia. The PCA is the largest conservative, evangelical and complementarian Christian denomination in Australia. The Presby ...
.


Services

Wandoan has the following services: * Ambulance service, doctor, out-patients clinic,
veterinary surgeon Veterinary surgery is surgery performed on non-human animals by veterinarians, whereby the procedures fall into three broad categories: orthopaedics (bones, joints, muscles), soft tissue surgery (skin, body cavities, cardiovascular system, GI/u ...
* Fire brigade, police station * tank water, town water, TV reception – Viewer Access Satellite Television only, normal
alternating current Alternating current (AC) is an electric current that periodically reverses direction and changes its magnitude continuously with time, in contrast to direct current (DC), which flows only in one direction. Alternating current is the form in w ...
(ac) power * Railway station (closed, no longer used), coach bus service (three services per week), full vehicle service * Chemist, hotel/motel, official post office, mail collected daily


Climate

The average temperature ranges between and in summer and between and in winter.


Notable people

*
Darren Lockyer Darren James Lockyer (born 24 March 1977) is an Australian television commentator and former professional rugby league footballer. Lockyer was an Australian international and Queensland State representative captain, who played his entire profe ...
, Australia, Queensland and Brisbane rugby league captain grew up in Wandoan. * Wild Toby, an Aboriginal bushranger.


References


Further reading

* * * *


External links

*
Town map of Wandoan, 1982


{{authority control Towns in Queensland Towns in the Darling Downs Western Downs Region Queensland in World War II Localities in Queensland