The Barcaldine Region is a

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

Central West Queensland Central West Queensland (abbreviated CWQ) is a remote region in the Australian state of Queensland which covers 396,650.2 km2. The region lies to the north of South West Queensland and south of the Gulf Country. It has a population of appr ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Established in 2008, it was preceded by three previous local government areas which had existed for over a century. It has an estimated operating budget of A$21.6 million. In the , the Barcaldine Region had a population of 2,849 people.

History

Barcaldine Region includes the traditional tribal lands of the

Iningai The Iningai (Yiningayi) are an indigenous Australian people of the present-day Longreach Region in the state of Queensland. Country The traditional lands of the Iningai lay to the west of the Great Dividing Range as far as the Forsyth Range, Man ...

(also known as Yiningay, Muttaburra, Tateburra, Yinangay, Yinangi) 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 Iningai people. The Iningai language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the

Longreach Region The Longreach Region is a local government area in Central West Queensland, Australia. Established in 2008, it superseded three previous local government areas that had existed for more than a century. It has an estimated operating budget of A ...

and Barcaldine Region, particularly the towns of

Longreach Longreach is a rural town and locality in the Longreach Region, Queensland, Australia. It is the administrative centre of the Longreach Regional Council, which was established in 2008 as a merger of the former Longreach, Ilfracombe, and I ...

, Barcaldine,

Muttaburra Muttaburra is an outback town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia. Muttaburra was the discovery site of the ''Muttaburrasaurus'', one of Australia's most famous dinosaurs. In the , t ...

and

Aramac Aramac is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Aramac had a population of 372 people. Geography Aramac is located north of Barcaldine, Queensl ...

as well as the properties of Bowen Downs and catchments of Cornish Creek and Alice River. Kuungkari (also known as Kungkari and Koonkerri) is a language of Western Queensland. The Kuungkari language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of

Longreach Shire Council The Shire of Longreach was a local government area located in central western Queensland, centred on the town of Longreach, from which the shire was administered. It covered an area of , and existed as a local government entity from 1900 until 2 ...

and Blackall-Tambo Shire Council. Jirandali (also known as Yirandali, Warungu, Yirandhali) is an

of North-West Queensland, particularly the

Hughenden Hughenden may refer to: *Hughenden, Queensland, a town in Australia * Hughenden, Alberta, a village in central Alberta, Canada *Hughenden Valley, a village in Buckinghamshire, England *Hughenden Manor, a mansion in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, Eng ...

area. The language region includes the local government area of the Shire of Flinders, including

Dutton River Dutton River is a rural locality in the Flinders Shire, Queensland, Australia. In the , Dutton River had a population of 66 people. Geography The ''Flinders River'' flows through from south-east to south-west. ''Dutton River'' (the watercour ...

Flinders River The Flinders River is the longest river in Queensland, Australia, at approximately . It was named in honour of the explorer Matthew Flinders. The catchment is sparsely populated and mostly undeveloped. The Flinders rises on the western slopes o ...

, Mount Sturgeon, Caledonia (in the Barcaldine Region),

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

, Corfield, Winton, Torrens, Tower Hill, Landsborough Creek, Lammermoor Station, Hughenden, and

Tangorin Tangorin is a rural town and locality in the Flinders Shire, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Tangorin had a population of 47 people. Indigenous language Jirandali (also known as Yirandali, Warungu, Yirandhali) is an Australia ...

. Prior to the 2008 amalgamation, the Barcaldine Region existed as three distinct local government areas: * the

Shire of Barcaldine The Shire of Barcaldine was a local government area located in central Queensland and headquartered in the town of Barcaldine. It covered an area of , and existed as a local government entity from 1892 until 2008, when it amalgamated with the S ...

; * the

Shire of Aramac The Shire of Aramac was a Local government in Australia, local government area located in central Queensland about north west of the state capital, Brisbane, between the towns of Barcaldine, Queensland, Barcaldine and Winton, Queensland, Winton ...

; * and the Shire of Jericho. When the ''Divisional Boards Act 1879'' was proclaimed on 11 November 1879, what is now the Barcaldine Region was part of the Barcaldine, Aramac, Kargoolnah and Bauhinia divisions. With the passage of the ''Local Authorities Act 1902'', all four became Shires on 31 March 1903. A number of boundary changes took place thereafter, but by the establishment of the Shire of Jericho on 1 January 1916, the boundaries were to remain unchanged for 92 years. In July 2007, the Local Government Reform Commission released its report and recommended that the three areas amalgamate. All three councils were rated as weak to moderate in terms of financial sustainability, and the three areas were believed to form a collective community of interest with the town of Barcaldine serving as a regional centre with commercial facilities and an airport. All three councils opposed the amalgamation, with Aramac putting an alternate suggestion together with the

Shire of Winton The Shire of Winton is a Local government in Australia, local government area in Central West Queensland, Australia. It covers an area of , and has existed as a local government entity since 1887. Its administrative centre is located in the tow ...

. On 15 March 2008, the three Shires formally ceased to exist, and elections were held on the same day to elect councillors and a mayor to the Regional Council. On 22 November 2019 the

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the state government of Queensland, Australia, a Parliament, parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Government is formed by the party or coalition that has gained a majority in the Queensland Legislative Assembly, ...

decided to amalgamate the localities in the Barcaldine Region, resulting in five expanded localities based on the larger towns: *

Alpha Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter ''aleph'' , whose name comes from the West Semitic word for ' ...

, absorbing Beaufort, Drummondslope, Dunrobin (south-eastern corner), Hobartville (north-eastern part), Pine Hill,

Port Wine Port wine (, ; ), or simply port, is a Portuguese wine, Portuguese fortified wine produced in the Douro, Douro Valley of Norte, Portugal, northern Portugal. It is typically a sweetness of wine, sweet red wine, often served with dessert wine, ...

Sedgeford Sedgeford is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk, about 5 miles south of the North Sea and east of the Wash. It is 36 miles northwest of Norwich. Its area of had a population, including Fring, of 613 at the 2011 Ce ...

Surbiton Surbiton is a suburban neighbourhood in South West London, within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (RBK). It is next to the River Thames, southwest of Charing Cross. Surbiton was in the Historic counties of England, historic county of ...

, absorbing Cornish Creek (eastern part), Dunrobin (south-western corner),

Galilee Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ). ''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...

Garfield ''Garfield'' is an American comic strip created by Jim Davis (cartoonist), Jim Davis. Originally published locally as ''Jon'' in 1976 (later changed to ''Garfield'' in 1977), then in nationwide Print syndication, syndication from 1978, it chro ...

(western corner),

Ibis The ibis () (collective plural ibises; classical plurals ibides and ibes) are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae that inhabit wetlands, forests and plains. "Ibis" derives from the Latin and Ancient Greek word f ...

, Ingberry (northern part), Pelican Creek,

Sardine Sardine and pilchard are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring suborder Clupeoidei. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century; a somewhat dubious etymology says it com ...

(eastern part),

Upland Upland or Uplands may refer to: Geography *Hill, an area of higher land, generally *Highland, an area of higher land divided into low and high points *Upland and lowland, conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level *I ...

, Upper Cornish Creek * Barcaldine, absorbing Barcaldine Downs, Evora, Grant (bulk), Home Creek, Ingberry (southern part), Moombria, Narbethong (bulk),

Patrick Patrick may refer to: *Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name * Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People *Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint * Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick ...

, Saltern Creek, Tara Station *

Jericho Jericho ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and the capital of the Jericho Governorate. Jericho is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It had a population of 20,907 in 2017. F ...

, absorbing Dunrobin (bulk), Garfield (bulk), Grant (eastern corner), Hobartville (south-western part),

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, Narbethong (north-east corner) *

, absorbing Bangall, Cornish Creek (western part), Sardine (western part), Tablederry

Wards

The council is undivided, with six councillors and a mayor serving the whole region.

Towns and localities

The Barcaldine Region includes the following settlements: Barcaldine area: * Barcaldine *

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

* Barcaldine Downs * Evora * Grant * Home Creek * Moombria * Narbethong *

* Saltern Creek * Tara Station Aramac area: *

* Bangall * Cornish Creek *

* Ingberry *

* Pelican Creek *

* Tablederry *

* Upper Cornish Creek Jericho area: *

* Beaufort * Drummondslope * Dunrobin *

* Hobartville *

* Pine Hill *