Wallumbilla is a rural town and locality in the Maranoa Region, Queensland, Australia.[2][3] In the 2021 census, the locality of Wallumbilla had a population of 331 people.[1] with 191 people living in the town itself.[4]
To the north of Wallumbilla the Great Dividing Range (in this region no more than a bumpy watershed) passes roughly ESE to NNW. The town is sandwiched between Wallumbilla & Middle Creeks as they flow south toward the Condamine/Balonne River.[5]
The name Wallumbilla was the name of a pastoral run leased by Charles Coxen, The name is presumed to come from the indigenous Mandandanji language and reportedly means wallu=plenty and billa=jew fish.[2][3]
Wallumbilla Provisional School opened on 25 October 1893, becoming Wallumbilla State School on 1 September 1894.[7] From January 1964, secondary schooling was offered in the Memorial Hall opposite the school, until it became possible to accommodate the secondary students on the school site from April 1965. A swimming pool was added to the school in 1981.[8]
On 1 December 1956, The Westlander collided head-on with the Western Mail which was stationary at Wallumbilla railway station. The crash killed 5 people and injured 11 or 13 people.[10][11][12][13] There is a memorial at the railway station commemorating the crash.[14]
In 2017, a combined Rural Fire station and SES facility was built.[15]
Demographics
In the 2006 census, the town of Wallumbilla had a population of 285 people.[16]
In the 2011 census, the locality of Wallumbilla had a population of 262 people.[17]
In the 2016 census, the locality of Wallumbilla had a population of 388 people,[18] with 191 people living in the town itself.[4]
In the 2021 census, the locality of Wallumbilla had a population of 331 people.[1]
Heritage listings
Wallumbilla has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
Traditionally Wallumbilla's main industries were dairy and beef cattle, now the main industries are cropping and beef cattle. The main crops include sorghum and wheat.
Locals believe that if not for the discovery of gas at nearby hub Roma, Wallumbilla would have flourished into a similar hub, as the discovery of gas in 1908 near Roma preluded the Wallumbilla cattle sale yards (a thriving business according to local history) to move up to Roma, accentuating its growth.
A major gas hub is in preparation for Wallumbilla, planned to start operation in 2014.[20]
Education
Wallumbilla State School is a government primary and secondary (Prep-10) school for boys and girls at 22 High Street (26°35′03″S149°11′10″E / 26.5843°S 149.1861°E / -26.5843; 149.1861 (Wallumbilla State School)).[21][22] In 2016, the school had an enrolment of 106 students with 15 teachers (12 full-time equivalent) and 10 non-teaching staff (7 full-time equivalent).[23] In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 126 students with 16 teachers (12 full-time equivalent) and 13 non-teaching staff (8 full-time equivalent).[24]
Most of these students hail from properties surrounding town, as well as the high school students who attended primary school in the neighbouring towns of Jackson and Yuleba.[citation needed]
The nearest state high schools offering Years 11 and 12 of secondary school are Roma State College and St. John's College in Roma (40 kilometres west) and Miles State High School in Miles (90 kilometres east).[5]
Wallumbilla's Calico Cottage, open seven days a week, is the town's Visitor Information Centre. As well as this, Calico Cottage sells locally produced arts and crafts along with refreshments. The Calico Cottage also serves as Wallumbilla's main Intercity Bus Stop which is used by Greyhound Australia as a regular timetabled stop on its main intercity services:
The town also contains three churches, as well as a Masonic Hall. Other amenities include a hotel/pub, a news agency, and a petrol station.
Wallumbilla has a heritage complex and visitor information centre. A Public Library (operated by the Maranoa Regional Council) operates in Wallumbilla in George Street.[30]
^"Our school". Wallumbilla State School. 17 December 2019. Archived from the original on 3 March 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
^"SPORTING". Western Star And Roma Advertiser. No. 2838. Queensland, Australia. 23 March 1929. p. 4. Archived from the original on 24 February 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2022 – via National Library of Australia.