Main street – Richmond

Queensland State Archives posted a photo:

Richmond is a town and locality in western Queensland. The explorer Ludwig Leichhardt camped at the site that would become the town of Richmond on 13 March 1862. The town was originally known as Richmond Downs after the nearby pastoral run, which in turn was named in 1864 because two of the leaseholders Walter Hays and Arthur Bundock came from the Richmond River in New South Wales.

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.

Traditionally, the two biggest industries in Richmon 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 discoveries have

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Jane Street, Cunnamulla

Queensland State Archives posted a photo:

Cunnamulla (Aboriginal meaning “long stretch of water”) is a small town that lies on the Warrego River in South West Queensland. Major industries of the area are wool, pig and kangaroo hunting, and the hospitality industry.

The original indigenous inhabitants of the area were the Kunja. The area’s first European explorer was Thomas Mitchell who passed through the region in 1846. A settlement arose here because there was a reliable waterhole where two major stock routes intersected.

The town itself came into being in the late 19th century as a coach stop for Cobb and Co coaches. A railway to the town was completed in 1899. Cunnamulla Post Office opened on 1 March 1868.

Description source:
Wikipedia

View the original image at Queensland State Archives:
Digital Image ID 5299

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Main street – Boulia

Queensland State Archives posted a photo:

Boulia is a remote outback town and locality in Central West Queensland. It lies on the Burke River, which was named after the explorer Robert O’Hara Burke who passed through the area with the Burke and Wills expedition in 1860.

Extensive grazing of beef cattle is the predominant industry. Boulia is at the heart of the Channel Country of western Queensland where, during rain events, channels running between the rivers and creeks of the region fill with water and spread that water over expansive areas. When it does rain heavily, the Mitchell grass plains respond magnificently and result in the Channel country around Boulia being among the finest beef producing country in Australia.

The area is best known for sightings of the Min Min lights, mysterious shimmering lights that appear at night. The lights are said to be caused by atmospheric refraction that occurs when cold air

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Main street – Barcaldine

Queensland State Archives posted a photo:

Barcaldine is a rural town 520 km west of Rockhampton, best known as the ‘birthplace’ of the Australian labour movement. By the late 1880s Barcaldine became a centre of activity in western Queensland for the organisation of shearers and rural labourers. Pastoralist, concerned about this growing assertiveness, formed the Pastoral Employers’ Association in Barcaldine in 1889, and reduced rates of pay for shearers.

The response was a firming of union membership, and by 1891 hundreds of shearers and rural workers were camped around Barcaldine waiting for work and threatening to take action in non-union workers were brought in. Mass meetings were held under a ghost gum, the Tree of Knowledge, now commemorated at the birthplace of organised labor, trades union and the Australian Labor party.

Description source:
Queensland Places

View the original image at Queensland State Archives:
Digital Image ID 17218

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Main street – Aramac

Queensland State Archives posted a photo:

Aramac is a small town and locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland. It is situated on Aramac Creek, which flows into the Thomson River 60 kilometers west of town. The predominant industry is grazing. The town water for Aramac is supplied from two bores connecting into the Great Artesian Basin.

In the 1850s, pastoralist and future Premier of Queensland Robert Ramsey Mackenzie travelled through the area, which was on the traditional lands of the Iningai. He blazed a tree with the inscription ‘R R Mac’, which was later corrupted into the name of the town. William Landsborough also explored the area in 1859. Pastoral occupation began in 1862 on the Bowen Downs station on Reedy Creek, north of Aramac, and the Aramac Station (1863).

Aramac was initially a major outback town. However, the railway line ran through Barcaldine to the south, taking away the trade. In 1914,

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