Yowah is an

outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than Australian bush, the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastli ...

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 Shire of Paroo,

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 Yowah had a population of 126 people. The town is known for its

opal Opal is a hydrated amorphous form of silicon dioxide, silica (SiO2·''n''H2O); its water content may range from 3% to 21% by weight, but is usually between 6% and 10%. Due to the amorphous (chemical) physical structure, it is classified as a ...

mining and numerous opal fields that lie around the town as well as the " Yowah nut", a local type of opal distinctive to the region.

Geography

Yowah is in western Queensland, west of the state capital,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

and west of

Cunnamulla Cunnamulla () is a town and a Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Shire of Paroo, Queensland, Australia. It is south of Charleville, Queensland, Charleville, and approximately west of the state capital, Brisbane. In the 2021 Au ...

. Access to Yowah is via a bitumen road. Driving in to Yowah at night not recommended due to animals on road.

History

The Yowah pastoral station was formed on Yowah Creek in the mid 1860s by Vincent James Dowling consisting of the Bargoon, Dundoo and Bundoona outstations. In 1868, the Queensland government established the Yowah

Native Police Australian native police were specialised mounted military units consisting of detachments of Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal troopers under the command of European officers appointed by British colonial governments. The units existed in va ...

barracks under Sub-Inspector James Gilmour. The area was first leased in 1883 to prospective settlers and opal mining has been the central operation within the district since the first opal fields were discovered. Population swells during the Winter months as many "regular" and "one off" visitors enjoy the weather and the friendly welcome this town offers. Yowah State School opened on 22 January 1998. It was one of the smallest state primary schools in Queensland; in 2012, there were three students. The school closed in 2017 due to a lack of students. It was at 5 Harlequin Drive (). Its website has been archived. In August 2014, the town committee built two artesian spas.

Demographics

In the , the locality of Yowah had a population of 142. In the , the locality of Yowah had a population of 141 people. In the , the locality of Yowah had a population of 126 people.

Education

There are no schools in Yowah nor nearby.

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 schools are options.

Facilities

Paroo Shire Council operates the Rural Transaction Centre which accommodates a tourist information centre, a public library, cafe, internet and tourist information. There is also a caravan park and general store which sells groceries and fuel and has an ATM. There is a public hall and flying doctor rooms with the Doctors attending every Friday. Craft group, indoor bowls and meals/bar two nights a week at hall and a weekly dinner and "duck race" to raise monies for SES/Flying Doctor etc at Caravan Park, during the Winter months. The town is serviced by the

State Emergency Service The State Emergency Service (SES) is the name used by a number of separate civil defence organisations in Australia that provide assistance during and after major incidents. Specifically, the services deal with floods, storms and tsunamis, b ...

and the Rural Fire Service. There are two airfield runways which are lit at night. There are no pumping or storage facilities in the town and the town relies on natural artesian pressure for its water supply. Surplus artesian water discharges into a bore drain. There are no standby facilities for Yowah and if the bore fails there would be a need to transport water from one of the other water supplies in the town for the duration of the problem. The water quality has been deemed to be safe, chemically.

Events

Yowah Opal Festival is a yearly festival (3rd weekend in July) to promote and celebrate opal mining in the area. Sales, exhibitions and nightly entertainment on offer. Yowah Nut

Attractions

Yowah has a free fossicking area (fossicking licence available at the general store). There is a heritage trail in which to explore the surrounding localities. There is also a free camping area, with amenities (toilets, showers and laundry). Artesian spas is a community run facility which offers two geothermally heated baths at 57°C (134.6°F). The

Great Artesian Basin The Great Artesian Basin (GAB) of Australia is the largest and deepest artesian basin in the world, extending over . Measured water temperatures range from . The basin provides the only source of fresh water through much of inland Australia. ...

sources the spas and the only communal source of drinking water.

References

External links

Paroo Shire Council
- Official website
Queensland Places
– Queensland Places
Paroo Shire Information
– Paroo Shire Information {{authority control Towns in Queensland Mining towns in Queensland Shire of Paroo Localities in Queensland