Middleton, Queensland

Middleton
Queensland
Middleton Hotel, 2019
Middleton is located in Queensland
Middleton
Middleton
Coordinates22°21′00″S 141°32′39″E / 22.3499°S 141.5443°E / -22.3499; 141.5443 (Middleton (centre of locality))
Population45 (2021 census)[1]
 • Density0.002401/km2 (0.00622/sq mi)
Postcode(s)4735
Area18,744.9 km2 (7,237.4 sq mi)
Time zoneAEST (UTC+10:00)
Location
LGA(s)Shire of Winton
State electorate(s)Gregory
Federal division(s)Maranoa
Localities around Middleton:
Selwyn McKinlay Kynuna
Warburton Middleton Corfield
Min Min Diamantina Lakes Opalton

Middleton is a rural locality in the Shire of Winton, Queensland, Australia.[2] In the 2021 census, the locality of Middleton had a population of 45 people.[1]

Geography

The locality is on the Kennedy Developmental Road, 1,524 kilometres (947 mi) northwest of the state capital Brisbane and 435 kilometres (270 mi) southeast of the regional centre of Mount Isa.

Lying within the locality is the former site of Collingwood (22°19′58″S 142°32′6″E / 22.33278°S 142.53500°E / -22.33278; 142.53500), a town that lost out in regional competition to its neighbour, Winton. It had been given up by about 1900.

The region in which Middleton lies is a circular zone that has been shown to be a crustal anomaly. Scientists from Geoscience Australia believe that it is an impact structure formed by an asteroid that struck the area about 300 million years ago. Final proof of this as the anomaly's genesis has not yet been found.

History

European exploration of the Middleton area began with explorer John McKinlay's expedition in search of the missing Burke and Wills expedition in 1862. McKinlay named a watercourse in the area Middleton Creek after his second-in-charge Thomas Middleton.[3][4][5][6]

The Middleton Hotel was established at the creek crossing as a Cobb & Co changing station on the route between Winton and Boulia.[3]

Middleton Provisional School opened on 1908 and closed on 1913.[7][8][9] Another Middleton Provisional School opened in 1937 and closed circa 1943.[7][10][11]

Middleton Post Office opened by March 1916 (a receiving office had been open from 1889) and closed in 1968.[12]

The 2016 film Goldstone was filmed in Middleton.[13]

Demographics

In the 2006 census, the locality of Middleton and the surrounding area had a population of 121 people.[14]

In the 2016 census, the locality of Middleton had a population of 9 people.[15]

In the 2021 census, the locality of Middleton had a population of 45 people.[1]

Heritage listings

The Elderslie Homestead (22°18′34″S 142°26′17″E / 22.3095°S 142.4380°E / -22.3095; 142.4380) on the Winton-Boulia Road is a heritage-listed site.[16]

Education

There are no schools in Middleton. Although the nearest primary and secondary school is Winton State School in Winton to the east, it is sufficiently distant that distance education and boarding school would be alternatives.[17]

Facilities

The town has been mostly abandoned and now consists of the Middleton Hotel, campground and the disused hall.[3]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Middleton, Queensland.
  1. ^ a b c Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Middleton (SAL)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 28 February 2023. Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ^ "Middleton – locality in Shire of Winton (entry 22001)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  3. ^ a b c "Middleton". Experience Winton. Shire of Winton. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  4. ^ "Queensland". Evening Journal. Vol. XVIII, no. 5384. South Australia. 13 September 1886. p. 3 (Second Edition). Retrieved 2 March 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "Fifty Years Ago". The Courier-Mail. No. 949. Queensland, Australia. 14 September 1936. p. 12. Retrieved 2 March 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ "Fifty Years Ago". Warwick Daily News. No. 5358. Queensland, Australia. 19 September 1936. p. 9. Retrieved 2 March 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ a b Queensland Family History Society (2010), Queensland schools past and present (Version 1.01 ed.), Queensland Family History Society, ISBN 978-1-921171-26-0
  8. ^ "Winton Notes". The Northern Miner. Queensland, Australia. 21 February 1908. p. 6. Retrieved 1 March 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^ "Warwick and District". The Brisbane Courier. Vol. LXV, no. 15, 864. Queensland, Australia. 14 November 1908. p. 11. Retrieved 1 March 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ "Winton Notes". Townsville Daily Bulletin. Vol. LIX, no. 26. Queensland, Australia. 30 January 1937. p. 12. Retrieved 1 March 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. ^ "Winton Notes". Townsville Daily Bulletin. Vol. LIX, no. 108. Queensland, Australia. 8 May 1937. p. 12. Retrieved 1 March 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. ^ Phoenix Auctions History. "Post Office List". Phoenix Auctions. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  13. ^ "Goldstone experiences a 'star rush' as filming wraps in outback Queensland" (press release). Screen Queensland. 5 June 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  14. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Middleton (Winton Shire) (State Suburb)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
  15. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Middleton (SSC)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 October 2018. Edit this at Wikidata
  16. ^ "Elderslie Homestead (entry 600966)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  17. ^ "Queensland Globe". State of Queensland. Retrieved 1 March 2021.