Mitchell is a rural town and locality in the Maranoa Region, Queensland, Australia.[2][3] The town services the local area, a cattle and sheep farming district. In the 2021 census, the locality of Mitchell had a population of 995 people.[1]
Geography
Warrego Highway crossing the Maranoa.Sign on the Warrego Highway at the western entrance to Mitchell
Mitchell is on the Warrego Highway, 587 kilometres (365 mi) west of Brisbane, 441 kilometres (274 miles) west of Toowoomba, 230 kilometres (140 miles) west of Miles, 89 kilometres (55 miles) west of Roma and 180 kilometres (110 miles) east of Charleville.[4] The Warrego Highway passes through town to form the main street, Cambridge Street. The Maranoa River flows around the northern and eastern sides of the town before eventually flowing into the Balonne River.[5]
The Western railway passes through the locality, entering from the east (Amby / Walhallow) and exiting to the west (Womalilla).[6] The locality is served by a number of railway stations, from west to east:
Centenary memorial erected in 1946 at Mitchell, Queensland to commemorate explorer Thomas Mitchell's naming of the nearby Maranoa River.
Before the arrival of Europeans, the Maranoa region was occupied by the Mandandanji and Gunggari Aboriginal peoples. Based on archaeological excavations in the Mount Moffatt area, it has been deduced that the Aboriginals had lived there for around 19,500 years. Descendants of the original peoples still live in and visit the area today.
In 1862, Edmund Morey established the property of Mitchell Downs. When the original homestead was partially destroyed by a flood in 1864, Thomas Close acquired the building's ruins and established the Mitchell Downs Hotel.
On 1 January 1865, Mitchell Downs Post Office opened and around 1878 was renamed Mitchell Post Office.[12]
Mitchell State School opened on 1 April 1876 as a primary school.[13] In 1961, it was expanded to include a secondary school.[14]
The first St Columba's Catholic Church was officially opened and blessed by BishopRobert Dunne on Saturday 15 November 1884.[15] On Sunday 24 April 1938, the new St Columba's Catholic Church was officially opened and blessed by Monsignor McKenna of Toowoomba. It was designed by J.P. Donoghue. The timber church was built by contractor F.T. Woollam at a cost of £3000. It can seat 350 people.[16][17]
The foundation block for the first All Saints' Anglican Church in Mitchell was laid by Coadjutor BishopNathaniel Dawes on Wednesday 13 November 1889.[18] The church was officially opened on Tuesday 5 August 1890 by Bishop William Webber.[19][20] It was designed by architect John H. Buckeridge. It was 45 by 25 feet (13.7 m × 7.6 m) and could seat 150 people. It was built from cypress pine by Roma contractors, Allen Clell & Sons, at a cost of £274.[21] The current All Saints' Anglican Church was built in 1965. It was designed by Ford Hutton, Newell, Black, and Paulson.[22] This brick church can seat 110 people.[23]
In 1902, after a short stand-off, bushrangers Patrick and James Kenniff were captured south of Mitchell at a location previously known as Back Creek but now known as Arrest Creek.[27] Patrick was hanged in 1903 for the murder of Constable George Doyle (who had previously served at Wyandra) and Albert Dahlke, while James was released after 12 years imprisonment and died peacefully in 1940.[28]
Long Gully Provisional School opened on 1915 on the road from Mitchell to St George; it closed in 1918.[29]
St Patrick's Catholic Primary School opened on 4 November 1923.[29][30]
Mitchell Aboriginal Provisional School opened on 1 May 1935 and was later proclaimed Mitchell Aboriginal State School. It closed on 19 November 1948.[29]
Mitchell was once the administrative centre of the Shire of Booringa local government area. Since 2008, the town is now part of the Maranoa Region.
In the March 2010 floods, the Maranoa River reached a peak of 13.4 m in the town causing an inundation of 25 houses.[32] The town experienced the worst flooding ever in 2012 when a monsoon trough hovered over central and southern Queensland and nearly inundated Charleville, 180 km (110 mi) to the west.
Demographics
In the 2011 census, the locality of Mitchell had a population of 1,311 people.[33]
In the 2016 census, the locality of Mitchell had a population of 1,031 people.[34]
In the 2021 census, the locality of Mitchell had a population of 995 people.[1]
Heritage listings
Mitchell railway station (looking towards Roma and Toowoomba)
Mitchell Library, 2011QCWA Hall in Cambridge Street
Mitchell is home to the Booringa Heritage Museum housed in the old Booringa Shire Council workshop building.
The Maranoa Regional Council operates a public library and the Maranoa Art Gallery at the old Maranoa Theatre building in Cambridge Street. From here it provides public WiFi by way of a high speed ISDN Internet Connection (powered through the National Broadband Network) to Brisbane.[38]
Mitchell State School is a government primary and secondary (Prep–10) school for boys and girls at 105 Cambridge Street (26°29′19″S147°58′17″E / 26.4885°S 147.9715°E / -26.4885; 147.9715 (Mitchell State School)).[40][41] In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 132 students with 16 teachers (13 full-time equivalent) and 15 non-teaching staff (10 full-time equivalent).[42] In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 137 students with 15 teachers (13 full-time equivalent) and 14 non-teaching staff (10 full-time equivalent).[43] Students come from Mitchell, Mungallala, Amby and surrounding properties.[44] Students in Years 11 and 12 are taken by bus to Roma State College in Roma.[45]
A major language revival effort has been under way in Queensland schools since St Patrick's School started teaching the Gunggari language around 2013. Since then, Mitchell State School has also started teaching Gunggari.[47][48]
The water supply for the town comes from three bores. The depth of the bores is about 1,000 metres. The water is pumped into a large concrete water tower on the western side of the town. The water is hot when it emerges from the ground, and in the tank it is about 50 °C. Houses close to the tank, have free hot water. In fact it is necessary to cool the water before it can be used.
Media
Mitchell is serviced by the following radio stations based in other locations, broadcast via local transmitters:
Television services are provided by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, with channels ABC, ABC Kids/ABC TV Plus, ABC ME and ABC NEWS, transmitting to Mitchell through its relay station, ABMLQ, situated at 26°32′35″S 148°6′41″E (Mitchell Escarpment).
The Seven Network and its sister stations 7two and 7mate transmit to Mitchell through its regional affiliate, ITQ.
Mitchell has a humid subtropical climate with hot summers and cold winters by Queensland standards. On 15 August 1979 Mitchell recorded a minimum temperature of −9.4 °C (15.1 °F), which is the third coldest temperature ever recorded in the state.[52] Mitchell has the largest overall temperature range recorded in Australia (56.2 °C, -9.4 °C to 46.8 °C).[53] The town gets an average of 157.5 clear days annually.[54]
The Great Artesian Spa was opened in 1998 and is situated in the town's aquatic centre.[55] There are two pools of artesian water, one heated and the other designed for those who prefer a cooler experience. Both spa pools have been designed with disabled access in mind and facilities include a chairlift to allow easy access for physically disabled people.[56] The water used in the spa pools is renewed regularly and comes from the Great Artesian Basin, which is one of the largest artesian basins in the world, which underlies around one-fifth of Australia.[57] It covers a total area of more than 1,711,000 square kilometres, and has been relied upon for the town water supply since 1927.[58][59]
Major Mitchell's Campsite, 38 kilometres north of Mitchell
Musical Cattle Grid, on the banks of the Maranoa River
There is a Visitor Information Centre located at the Great Artesian Spa complex, next door to the Mitchell Memorial Swimming Pool.
Notable people
The 15th Prime Minister of Australia, Francis Forde was born in Mitchell. He is Australia's shortest serving Prime Minister, with a term lasting just eight days. He was also Australia's longest living Prime Minister, until Gough Whitlam took that mantle.[60]
^"Advertising". Western Star And Roma Advertiser. No. 1122. Queensland, Australia. 13 November 1889. p. 2. Archived from the original on 18 February 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Visit to the West". The Telegraph. No. 6, 706. Queensland, Australia. 14 April 1894. p. 5. Archived from the original on 18 February 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
^Blake, Thom. "Wesleyan Methodist Church". Queensland religious places database. Archived from the original on 23 October 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
^"Mitchell Convent School". The Catholic Advocate. Vol. XIII, no. 650. Queensland, Australia. 22 November 1923. p. 35. Archived from the original on 18 February 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
^"The Great Artesian Basin"(PDF). QLD Department of Environment and Resource Management. Archived from the original(PDF) on 23 September 2010. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
Mitchell Queensland – visitor information and website of the Booringa Action Group, a local not-for-profit organisation who supports the local community.