Cloncurry, Queensland


Cloncurry is a town and locality in the Shire of Cloncurry, Queensland, Australia. It is the administrative centre of the shire. At the 2016 census, Cloncurry recorded a population of 2,719 people.
Cloncurry is known as the Friendly Heart of the Great North West and celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2017.
Cloncurry was recognised for its liveability, winning the Queensland's Friendliest Town award twice by environmental movement Keep Queensland Beautiful, first in 2013 and again in 2018.

Geography

Cloncurry is situated in the north-west of Queensland, 770 kilometres west of the city of Townsville via the Flinders Highway. The town lies adjacent to the Cloncurry River.
Cattle grazing is the significant industry in the region, and a large sale yards is located in the town.

History

is an Australian Aboriginal language. The Kalkatunga language region is North-West Queensland including the local government areas of the City of Mount Isa.
The first Europeans to traverse these tribal lands of peoples such as the Maithakari and the Wanamara, were Burke and Wills on their epic, and ultimately fatal, transcontinental expedition. The Cloncurry River was named by Burke after Lady Elizabeth Cloncurry, his cousin, with the town eventually taking its name from the river.
Ernest Henry discovered copper in the area in 1867, and the town sprang up to service the Great Australia Mine to the south. Roger Sheaffe established the first pastoral run in the Cloncurry district - "Fort Constantine". Gold was discovered at Top Camp. The town was surveyed in 1876. Cloncurry was proclaimed a town in 1884.
The Cloncurry Advocate was a newspaper published in Cloncurry between 1889 and 1953.
Queensland's Northern Line railway reached Cloncurry in December 1907 and was officially opened the next year.
St Joseph's School opened on 29 October 1909.
In 1914 a fire broke out in the town resulting in the destruction of the Post Office, the hotel, eleven shops, two store-rooms and a cottage. The telegraph office was saved by employees who kept the office damp and protected with wet blankets. One man died in the blaze which cost an estimated £15,000.
The discovery of uranium at Mary Kathleen brought wealth to the community in the 1950s. Until the development of Mount Isa in the 1960s, Cloncurry was the administrative centre of the region.
The first-ever flight of the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia took place from Cloncurry on 15 May 1928, using a de Havilland DH.50 aircraft hired from the then small airline, Qantas. A Royal Flying Doctor Service museum is situated in the town.
The population in Cloncurry decreased from 3,898 in 1996 to 2,900 in 2002. It declined further to 2,719 by 2016.
The Cloncurry Bob McDonald Library opened in 2012.

Heritage listings

Cloncurry has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
Cloncurry was widely regarded as holding the record for the highest temperature recorded in Australia at on 16 January 1889. Recent investigations have revealed that this temperature was measured in an improvised screen made from a beer crate and that it equated to 47–49 °C under standard conditions. The highest temperature ever recorded at Cloncurry's current weather station is, well short of the now widely disputed 1889 temperature of 53.1 °C. The average annual rainfall is, almost all of which falls In the months of December to March
Because of the area's extreme solar conditions, Cloncurry was expected to become Australia's first solar-powered town. However the planned 10MW Thermal solar plant was scrapped due to light pollution concerns and a 2.128MW flat panel photovoltaic solar farm was to be built in its place. However, the Queensland Government withdrew financial support for the solar farm in May 2012.

Notable residents

Cloncurry has a public library, gallery, public swimming pool, showground, racecourse, Flying Doctor museum and a mineral display in the old post office.
The Cloncurry Shire Council operates a public library in Cloncurry at Scarr Street.
The Cloncurry branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association has its rooms at Charlotte Scott House in Scarr Street. Charlotte Scott was a dedicated member of the Cloncurry QCWA who died in 1992 having spent most of her life in Cloncurry. She was well known for her dancing, especially the Charleston.

Education

Cloncurry State School is a government co-educational Prep to Year 12 School at Daintree St., Cloncurry. In 2015 the School had 281 students enrolled with a teaching staff of 28 FTE and 15 FTE non teaching staff. The general population in the community is highly transient with approximately 40% turnover in student enrolment in 2015. Approximately 60% of student enrolment identify as Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander.

Transport

Cloncurry has linkages to other destinations via major coach operators such as Greyhound and Bus Queensland. A weekday service to Mount Isa is operated by Cloncurry Coaches as well as local charter services within the area for mining, school, sporting bodies and special events.
During World War 2, Cloncurry was the location of RAAF No.23 Inland Aircraft Fuel Depot, completed in 1942 and closed on 14 August 1944. Usually consisting of 4 tanks, 31 fuel depots were built across Australia for the storage and supply of aircraft fuel for the RAAF and the US Army Air Forces at a total cost of £900,000.