Augathella lies on the Matilda Highway, is 85 kilometres (53 mi) north of the town of Charleville, 271 kilometres (168 mi) west of Roma and 748 kilometres (465 mi) west of Brisbane (Queensland's capital). The town lies on the banks of the Warrego River.[citation needed]
Grazing is still the predominant industry of the area.[citation needed]
The first British explorer to enter the region was Edmund Kennedy, whose 1847 expedition encountered an Aboriginal community who communicated the words "Yo, Yo" to express affirmation. Kennedy subsequently called the creek where he found this community Yo Yo Creek.[8]
Pastoralists started to take land in the region in early 1862 with the arrival of James Norman, who took up vast leaseholds on behalf of Joseph Fleming and Adeline Dollman. Norman established the Burenda, Yo Yo and Augathella properties.[9]
Aboriginal resistance to colonisation in the region was notable in that several victories were achieved against the paramilitary units of the Native Police on the upper Warrego and Ward rivers. However, in 1864 a Native Police barracks was built on Yo Yo Creek, and punitive expeditions under officers such as Sub-Lieutenant Carr crushed any further resistance.[10][11]
Augathella township
The town, built up gradually over what was Kunja tribal territory, came into being initially as a resting place for bullock teams lying at the convergence of three bullock tracks from Morven, Tambo, and Charleville. Originally called Burenda it was renamed Ellangowan (still the name of the local watering hole) and when gazetted in 1883 called Augathella. This is apparently an Indigenous Australian word meaning "camp on a waterhole", referring the Warrego River.[2][12] A service centre sprang up to service their needs and the needs of the burgeoning grazing industry.
Burenda Post Office opened on 1 September 1869. It was renamed Ellangowan in 1877 and Augathella in 1883.[13]
Augathella Provisional School opened on 1 January 1884. On 7 August 1893 it became Augathella State School.[14][15]
On Sunday 10 July 1892 St Luke's Anglican church was officially opened by BishopNathaniel Dawes.[16][17] A new church was built at a cost of £8300 and dedicated in 1957.[18]
On 1 October 1928 Rev W.C. Radcliffe officially opened the Augathella Presbyterian Church.[19]
The 1956 film Smiley was based on Moore Raymond's novel of the same name, which was set in a fictionalised version of Augathella.[20][21][22]
The town's service centre was bypassed by the new Matilda Highway during the 1980s. Some new businesses have slowly encroached back onto the highway frontage.[citation needed]
Augathella and the surrounding district suffered extensive flood damage in April 1990 when the Warrego River burst its banks and flooded the town with more than 50 houses inundated.[23][24]
Since 2011 the main street of the town has been marked by 4.5m steel and copper giant sculpture of a meat ant[26] - in a reference to its former junior football team, named the "Mighty Meat Ants".[27]
Demographics
In the 2006 census, the town of Augathella had a population of 395 people.[28]
In the 2016 census, the locality of Augathella had a population of 449 people.[29]
In the 2021 census, the locality of Augathella had a population of 328 people.[4]
Heritage listings
There are a number of heritage-listed sites in Augathella, including:
Augathella State School is a government primary (Early Childhood to Year 6) school for boys and girls at Cavanagh Street (25°47′50″S146°35′00″E / 25.7971°S 146.5833°E / -25.7971; 146.5833 (Augathella State School)).[31][32] In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 44 students with 4 teachers and 4 non-teaching staff (3 full-time equivalent).[33] Augathella State School is part of Education Queensland's Charleville Cluster and is supported by the Darling Downs South West regional team which is based in Toowoomba.[34]
There is no secondary school in Augathella.[35] School Bus Route S279 conveys students from Year 7 to Year 12 into Charleville to attend Charleville State High School.[36]
Augathella is the permanent home of the Q150 Shed that travelled around the state in 2009 as part of the Q150 Celebrations providing each community it visited a night of entertainment. Communities toured included: Mount Isa, Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Rockhampton, Maryborough, Blackall, Augathella, Cherbourg, Warwick, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.[40]
^"The Sketcher". The Queenslander. Vol. XXVIII, no. 516. Queensland, Australia. 15 August 1885. p. 252. Archived from the original on 5 March 2024. Retrieved 1 October 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Upper Warrego". The Brisbane Courier. Vol. XIX, no. 2000. Queensland, Australia. 25 June 1864. p. 3. Archived from the original on 5 March 2024. Retrieved 1 October 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
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