Quilpie, Queensland


Quilpie is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Quilpie, Queensland, Australia. In the, Quilpie had a population of 595 people.
The town is the administrative centre of the Quilpie Shire local government area. The town of Toompine is also within the locality.
The economy of the area is based on the grazing and mining industries. The area has one of the largest deposits of boulder opal in the world, and also has extensive deposits of gas and oil.

Geography

Quilpie is in Channel Country on the banks of the Bulloo River. It is on the Diamantina Developmental Road, west of Charleville, and west of the state capital, Brisbane. Quilpie is the administrative centre of the Quilpie Shire.
The town of Toompine is within the locality of Quilpie
Other townships in the shire include Adavale and Eromanga.
Quilpie has quite a few trees but sometime drought takes over and the landscape can become dry and desolate.

History

Quilpie is believed to lie on the border of the Bunthamurra and Margany Indigenous Australian tribal areas.
Margany is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken by the Margany people. The Margany language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Quilpie Shire, taking in Quilpie, Cheepie and Beechal extending towards Eulo and Thargomindah, as well as the properties of Dynevor Downs and Ardoch.
Toompine Provisional School and Duck Creek Provisional School both opened in 1900. In 1901 they became half-time schools . Toompine Provisional School closed in July 1902, enabling Duck Creek Provisional School to revert to full-time status. Due to low student numbers, Duck Creek Provisional School closed in 1905.
Quilpie was gazetted as a town in 1917 owing to the Western railway line that was laid down from Brisbane. It takes its name from the Indigenous Australian word for stone curlew, quilpeta. The name was proposed by pastoralist James Hammond of Tenham Station. The Queensland Railways Department mistakenly named the railway station Quillpill. The town and station name were standardised to Quilpie on 16 June 1917 by the Governor in Council.
Quilpie State School opened on 10 September 1918. The school began offering secondary education in 1966. On 5 December 2008 it was renamed Quilpie State College.
The first post office was opened in 1921. Two years later the telephone reached Quilpie.
A fire destroyed a block of the main street in 1926. With no town water the residents watched helplessly.
In 1927 the first court house was established.
Prior to 1930, Quilpie was within the Shire of Adavale, headquartered at Adavale. However, the decision to route the railway line through Quilpie rather than Adavale had led to a population drift away from Adavale making Quilpie the larger town. On 17 July 1930, there was a re-organisation of local government in the district, resulting in the abolition of the Shire of Adavale and the creation of the Shire of Quilpie with Quilpie as its headquarters.
A bore was sunk into the Great Artesian Basin in 1933. It provided drinking water for the town and for a period between 1952 and 1963 the hot water was used to generate electricity for the town.
St Finbarr's Catholic School opened in early 1950, shortly after the arrival in January 1950 of three Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart, Sisters Macrina, Carmel and Magdalen. By the end of 1950, over 60 children were enrolled. A boarding school for boys and girls was opened in 1951. The first lay teacher, Michael West, was appointed in 1983. When the boarding facility closed in 2008, it was the last rural Catholic primary boarding school in Queensland. In 2009, the first lay principal, Aaron Wells, was appointed and the administration of the school passed from the Sisters to the Catholic Education Office of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Toowoomba who operate the school in the Mary MacKillop tradition.
Goombie State School opened on Goombie Station on 27 January 1970 and closed on 9 December 1977.
At the Quilpie had a population of 645. Around 14% of the population of Quilpie identity as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander and around 2% were born outside Australia.
The current Quilpie Public Library building opened in 2005.
At the Quilpie had a population of 560.
At the Quilpie had a population of 574 people.

Economy

The area is wholly devoted to grazing. Boulder opal, oil and gas mining are major secondary industries for the local economy. The majority of the employees of these industries are local residents, with low rates of both unemployment and itinerant work.
Quilpie has one opal mining field; Toompine Field is located between Quilpie and Yowah.

Flora and fauna

The most common species of trees in the district are:
There are a large range of animals that are can be found in the area including:
Quilpie residents enjoy free access to many amenities including the town library, swimming pool, golf course, museum, sports grounds, an air-conditioned hall and supper room etc. There are well stocked stores and plenty of attractions for visitors with displays of opals and the works of local artists and as well as an information centre. The Brick Hotel has been restored to house displays of opal and art and provide a community learning space.
Quilpie Shire Council operates Quilpie Shire Library, 52 Brolga Street, Quilpie.
The Quilpie branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association has its rooms at 17 Brolga Street.

Education

Quilpie State College is a government primary and secondary school for boys and girls at Cnr Chulungra & Boonkai Streets. In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 61 students with 12 teachers and 12 non-teaching staff.
St Finbarr's School is a Catholic primary school for boys and girls at Jabiru Street. In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 30 students with 5 teachers and 5 non-teaching staff. Eromanga State School currently operates in the township of Eromanga approximately 90 km west of Quilpie. It has had a chequered history when it was open in the following years - 1897-1908, 1910-1911, 1917–1936, 1967-1981, 1990–present.
Many other public schools have operated in the Quilpie district. The Milo Provisional School was functional between 1888 and 1906. Adavale State School had a long history from 1888-1968. Cheepie State School opened in 1915 and closed in 1974. The Toompine Provisional School was open between 1900 and 1902, for a time operating as a half-time school with Duck Creek State School which was open between 1901 and 1905. The Goombie State School operated between 1875 and 1977.

Climate

Quilpie has a semi-arid climate with hot summers and mild, spring-like winters.

Events