Yaraka Branch Railway Line
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The Blackall and Yaraka Branch Railways are railway lines in
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. The former branch connected the small town of
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 ...
on the
Central Western railway line The Central Western railway line is a railway line in Queensland, Australia. It was opened in a series of sections between 1867 and 1928. It commences at Rockhampton and extends west to Winton. History Following the separation of Queensl ...
with
Blackall Blackall is a rural town and locality in the Blackall-Tambo Region, Queensland, Australia. The town is the service centre for the Blackall-Tambo Region. The dominant industry in the area is grazing with over 70 homesteads in the locality (as ...
and the latter branch connected Blackall to the even smaller town of
Yaraka Yaraka is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Longreach Region of Queensland, Australia. Until 2021, the town of Yaraka was part of the locality of Isisford, Queensland, Isisford. Geography Yaraka is in Centra ...
. Blackall was named after Sir Samuel Wensley Blackall who from 1868 to 1871 was the second
Governor of Queensland The governor of Queensland is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in the state of Queensland. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia, governor-general at the national level, the governor Governors of ...
.


History

In the late 1890s it was government policy that Queensland's three major trunk lines should be extended to the south-west in order to link vast remote areas with the coast. Those trunk routes were the Western line which then ran from
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
to Charleville, the Central Western Line from
Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. In the , the population of Rockhampton was 79,293. A common nickname for Rockhampton is "Rocky", and the demonym of Rockhampton is Rockhamptonite. The Scottish- ...
to
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 ...
and the Great Northern line running from
Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...
to Hughenden. The Western line was extended south-west to
Cunnamulla Cunnamulla () is a town and a Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Shire of Paroo, Queensland, Australia. It is south of Charleville, Queensland, Charleville, and approximately west of the state capital, Brisbane. In the 2021 Au ...
and opened in 1898 whilst in 1917 the Quilpie Line was opened from Westgate (south of Charleville) due west to
Quilpie Quilpie ( ) is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Shire of Quilpie, Shire of Quilpie, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Quilpie had a population of 530 people. The town is the administrative cent ...
. The Great Northern line was extended south-west to Winton and opened in 1899. Extending the Central line was more problematic. Residents of the
Jundah Jundah is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Shire of Barcoo, Queensland, Australia. Jundah is the administrative centre of the Shire of Barcoo, Barcoo Shire local government area. In the , the locality of Junda ...
and
Windorah Windorah is a town and a locality in the Shire of Barcoo, Queensland, Australia. It is one of only three towns in the Shire of Barcoo in Central West Queensland. In the , the locality of Windorah had a population of 104 people. Geography Loca ...
regions (along the Thomson River south-west of Longreach) jostled for a line in their direction to run from Dartmouth, 50 kilometres east of Longreach via
Stonehenge Stonehenge is a prehistoric Megalith, megalithic structure on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, west of Amesbury. It consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around high, wide, and weighing around 25 tons, to ...
to Jundah and Windorah. Meanwhile, Longreach residents preferred an extension north-east to Winton thus providing a link to the Great Northern Line. An alternative option to the south-west was therefore examined being a line from Barcaldine or Jericho (both further east of Longreach) down to Blackall the oldest town in the region. Although Barcaldine was fractionally closer to Blackall than Jericho, the latter prevailed because most of the land over the Barcaldine route had already been settled. The Blackall Branch was therefore approved in 1905 and had the potential to be further extended south-west to Yaraka, Windorah and beyond. The branch was long and opened on 31 March 1908. Tiny sidings appeared en route at Joycedale, Lancevale,
Yalleroi Yalleroi is a rural town in the north of the locality of Blackall in the Blackall-Tambo Region, Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the se ...
and Glenusk. Because Jericho had no depot, a thrice weekly service ran from nearby
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 ' ...
east of Jericho. Blackall passengers heading to Rockhampton usually changed trains at Jericho. In 1952, a weekly mixed Rockhampton to Blackall service commenced as did a second weekly service in 1967. The services ended in 1970 when The Midlander service could be met at Jericho for a more comfortable trip to and from Rockhampton. By all accounts, the Blackall Branch was reasonably well patronised but traffic inevitably declined when road transport increased. It faced closure in the early 1990s but earned a reprieve after staunch local opposition. The seasonal transport of cattle became its main source of activity but by 2005 the branch and its extension to Yaraka were untenable. The
Queensland Parliament The Parliament of Queensland is the unicameral legislative body of the Australian state of Queensland. As provided under the Constitution of Queensland, the Parliament consists of the King, represented by the Governor of Queensland, and the ...
passed the Great Western Railway Act in 1910. Its purpose was to authorize construction of over of railway in far western Queensland so as to bring all sheep farming activities in the region within reach of a railway and hence eastern markets. The line was to run from Tobermory in the far south-west to
Camooweal Camooweal is an outback town and locality in the City of Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia. The locality is on the Queensland border with the Northern Territory. In the , the locality of Camooweal had a population of 236 people. Geography The ...
in the far north-west. Tobermory lay to the south of Quilpie and Eromanga whilst Camooweal sat to the north-west of
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 mines in world history, based on co ...
and not far from the
Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...
border. The proposed line would also double as a link in a grand plan to link
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
by rail with Darwin. Also required were four spur lines to join the existing Queensland system at Charleville, Blackall, Winton and Malbon near
Cloncurry Cloncurry is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Cloncurry, Queensland, Australia. It is informally known by local people as The Curry. Cloncurry is the administrative centre of the Shire of Cloncurry. Cloncurry is known as the ''Friendl ...
on the Great Northern Line. In the end, the concept of the Great Western Railway was unrealistic and uneconomic. But some construction work was completed including extension of the Blackall Branch to Yaraka (and proposed to reach Windorah). The line opened in four stages – to Malvernton (via Glenstuart siding) on 16 June 1913, to Benlidi shortly after on 1 July 1913, to Emmet (via Mekaree siding) on 16 December 1914 and to Yaraka (via Ungo and Konupa sidings) on 3 April 1917. Roughly 300 kilometres separated Blackall and Windorah, and Yaraka was about halfway. A twice weekly mixed service plied the Yaraka Branch. It was slow at six hours but worse was a trip between Yaraka and Rockhampton at twenty-six hours although that included a through service between Alpha and Yaraka. The service was later cut back to once per week. As with the Blackall Branch the line faced closure in the early 1990s but earned a reprieve after local opposition. The ‘Yaraka Mixed’ later achieved novelty status as one of the last of its kind but by April 2001 passengers were not permitted aboard and by September 2005 had closed completely. As compensation for the closure, the locals were promised all-weather road upgrades in the region. As an aside, the Central Western Line was eventually extended from Longreach and opened to Winton in 1928.


See also

* Construction of Queensland railways


References

* * {{Railway lines in Queensland Closed railway lines in Queensland Central West Queensland Railway lines opened in 1908 1908 establishments in Australia Railway lines closed in 2005 2005 disestablishments in Australia