Augathella is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Murweh,

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia.

Geography

Augathella lies on the Matilda Highway, is north of the town of Charleville, west of

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council * Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

and west of

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

(Queensland's capital). The town lies on the banks of the

Warrego River The Warrego River is an intermittent river that is part of the Darling catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, which is located in South West Queensland and in the Orana region of New South Wales, Australia. The Warrego River is the north ...

. Grazing is still the predominant industry of the area.

History

''Bidjara'' (also known as ''Bidyara, Pitjara,'' and ''Peechara'') is an

Australian Aboriginal language The Indigenous languages of Australia number in the hundreds, the precise number being quite uncertain, although there is a range of estimates from a minimum of around 250 (using the technical definition of 'language' as non-mutually intellig ...

spoken by the Bidjara people. The Bidjara language region includes the local government areas of the Shire of Murweh, particularly the towns of Charleville, Augathella and Blackall as well as the properties of Nive Downs and

Mount Tabor Mount Tabor ( he, הר תבור) (Har Tavor) is located in Lower Galilee, Israel, at the eastern end of the Jezreel Valley, west of the Sea of Galilee. In the Hebrew Bible (Joshua, Judges), Mount Tabor is the site of the Battle of Mount T ...

. '' Gungabula'' (also known as ''Kongabula'' and ''Khungabula'') is an

of the headwaters of the Dawson River in

Central Queensland Central Queensland is an ambiguous geographical division of Queensland ( a state in Australia) that centres on the eastern coast, around the Tropic of Capricorn. Its major regional centre is Rockhampton. The region extends from the Capricorn Coa ...

. The language region includes areas within the local government area of

Maranoa Region Maranoa Region is a local government area in South West Queensland, Australia. The town of Roma is the administrative headquarters of the region. History The Gunggari language region of South West Queensland includes the landscape within the ...

, particularly the towns of Charleville, Augathella and Blackall and as well as the Carnarvon Range. Gunya (Kunya, Kunja, Kurnja) is an

spoken by the Gunya people. The Gunya language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Paroo Shire Council, taking in Cunnamulla and extending north towards Augathella, east towards

Bollon Bollon is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Balonne, Queensland, Australia. In the , Bollon had a population of 221 people. Geography Bollon is in South West Queensland, west of the state capital, Brisbane. Bollon is situated on th ...

and west towards Thargomindah. 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 Morven, or Mhoirbheinn, is a given name and may also refer to: Places Australia * Morven, Queensland, a town and locality in the Shire of Murweh * Morven, New South Wales * Electoral district of Morven, Tasmania Canada * Morven, community in Loyal ...

, 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 Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples o ...

word meaning "camp on a waterhole", referring the

. 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. Augathella Provisional School opened on 1 January 1884. On 7 August 1893 it became Augathella State School. On Sunday 10 July 1892 St Luke's Anglican church was officially opened by

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

Nathaniel Dawes Nathaniel Dawes (24 July 1843 – 12 September 1910) was an Anglican bishop in Australia. He was the first Bishop of Rockhampton in Queensland, from 1892 to 1909. He was the first bishop to be consecrated in Australia. Early life Dawes was ...

. A new church was built at a cost of £8300 and dedicated in 1957. On 1 October 1928 Rev W.C. Radcliffe officially opened the Augathella Presbyterian Church. The 1956 film

Smiley A smiley, sometimes referred to as a smiley face, is a basic ideogram that represents a smiling face. Since the 1950s it has become part of popular culture worldwide, used either as a standalone ideogram, or as a form of communication, such a ...

was based on Moore Raymond's novel of the same name, which was set in a fictionalised version of Augathella. 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. Augathella and the surrounding district suffered extensive flood damage in 1990 when the Warrego River burst its banks and flooded the town. The Augathella Library opened in 2000. At the , Augathella had a population of 395. Augathella Cosmos Meatant Country

Since 2011 the entrance the town has been marked by 4.5m steel and copper giant sculpture of a meat ant - in a reference to its former junior football team, named the "Mighty Meat Ants". In the , Augathella had a population of 449 people.

Heritage listings

There are a number of heritage-listed sites in Augathella, including: Within the town: * Annie Street: Catholic Church * Annie Street: Catholic School * Cavanagh Street: Hospital * Cavanagh Street: Queensland Country Women's Association * Elmes Street: Rodeo Grounds * Forest Street: Augathella Water Tower * Jane Street (corner of Cavanagh Street): Kenniff Tree * Main Street: Arts and Craft Centre (former Helton's Building) * Main Street: Butcher shop * Main Street: Police station * Main Street: Post office * Main Street: Town hall * Main Street: War Memorial Hill * Main & Annie Streets: Ellangowan Hotel * 61 Main Street: St Luke's Anglican Church * Nelson Street: Old Water Tower * off Russell Street: Cemetery * off West Street: Augathella Race Course Within the locality: * Carnarvon Station: Fig Tree Spring Stockyards * Dooloogarah Carnarvon National Park Road: Ralph's Bore & Upper Warrego Police Barracks site * Mount Tabor: Dingo Fence Section

Education

Augathella State School
is a government primary (Early Childhood-6) school for boys and girls at Cavanagh Street (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 44 students with 4 teachers and 4 non-teaching staff (3 full-time equivalent). 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 Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 ...

. There is no secondary school in Augathella. School Bus Route S279 conveys students from Year 7 to Year 12 into Charleville to atten
Charleville State High School

Amenities

The Murweh Shire Council operates the Augathella Library on Main Street, Augathella. The Augathella Library has a high-speed Internet Connection (powered by the

National Broadband Network The National Broadband Network (NBN) is an Australian national wholesale open-access data network. It includes wired and radio communication components rolled out and operated by NBN Co, a Government-owned corporation. Internet service provi ...

) The Augathella branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association has its rooms at 101 Cavanagh Street. St Luke's Anglican Church is at 61 Main Street () and holds services on the 2nd Sunday of each month. There is a growing arts centre in the town, public swimming pool, a bowls club, and polocrosse teams.

Events

There is an annual rodeo. There is also a Christmas Celebration in Meat Ant Park every December

Media

Augathella is serviced by: * Radio 4VL (Resonate Radio) - 106.1 FM The

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

transmits ABC Television and its sister channels ABC Kids/

ABC TV Plus ABC TV Plus (formerly ABC2 and ABC Comedy) is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and part of its ABC Television network. The channel broadcasts a range of general entertainment prog ...

, ABC Me and

ABC News ABC News is the journalism, news division of the American broadcast network American Broadcasting Company, ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other progra ...

to Augathella through its relay station, ABAAQ at 25°48′23″S 146°35′21″E (old Charleville - Augathella Road) The

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australi ...

and its sister stations 7two and

7mate 7mate is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, which was launched by the Seven Network on 25 September 2010. The channel contains sport and regular programs aimed primarily to a male audience, with programming drawn from a ...

transmit to Augathella through its regional area affiliate, ITQ The

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television ne ...

and its sister channels 9Gem, 9Go! and transmit to Augathella through its regional area affiliate,

Imparja Television Imparja Television (IMP) is an independent Australian television station servicing over , across six states and territories: Northern Territory, South Australia, Tasmania, Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. It is based in Alice Sprin ...

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...

and its sister channels

10 Bold 10 Bold is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel owned by Network 10. It originally launched on 26 March 2009 as One HD with a focus on broadcasting sports-based programming and events, but rebranded to One in April 2011 to ...

, 10 Peach and transmit to Augathella through its regional area affiliate, CDT The

Special Broadcasting Service The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is an Australian hybrid-funded public service broadcaster. About 80 percent of funding for the company is derived from the Australian Government. SBS operates six TV channels ( SBS, SBS Viceland, SBS Wor ...

and its sister channels SBS Viceland, SBS World Movies and SBS Food also transmit to Augathella

Attractions

Augathella is the permanent home of the

Q150 Q150 was the sesquicentenary (150th anniversary) of the Separation of Queensland from New South Wales in 1859. Separation established the Colony of Queensland which became the State of Queensland in 1901 as part of the Federation of Australia. ...

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.

Transport

Augathella is situated on the junction of the Landsborough Highway from

and the

Mitchell Highway Mitchell Highway is an outback state highway located in the Central West Queensland, central and South West Queensland, south western regions of Queensland and the North West Slopes, northern and Central West, New South Wales, central western ...

from Charleville. Augathella is served by Greyhound Australia who operates Gx493 between

and

Mount Isa Mount Isa ( ) is a city in the Gulf Country region of Queensland, Australia. It came into existence because of the vast mineral deposits found in the area. Mount Isa Mines (MIM) is one of the most productive single mines in world history, b ...

and its return service, Gx494 which stops at the BP Roadhouse on the Highway Augathella Aerodrome has a sealed runway, . It is operated by Murweh Shire Council.

In popular culture

Augathella is the destination of cattle drovers in the Australian folk song

Brisbane Ladies "Brisbane Ladies" is an Australian folksong and is one of many adaptations of the traditional British naval song " Spanish Ladies". The version given below is the most commonly sung, but the original mentions Nanango favorably as "that jolly old ...

. This song is alternately called "Augathella Station".

References

External links

University of Queensland: Queensland Places: Augathella
{{authority control Towns in Queensland South West Queensland Shire of Murweh Localities in Queensland