Longreach

Geography

Longreach is in Central West Queensland, approximately 700 km (430 mi) from the coast, west of Rockhampton. The town is on the Tropic of Capricorn in the south-east of the locality. The town is named after the ‘long reach’ of the Thomson River on which it is situated.

Lochern National Park is in the south-western part of the locality (formerly in Vergemont).

The main industries of the area are cattle, sheep, and, more recently, tourism.

The Landsborough Highway enters the locality from the south-east (Ilfracombe), passes through the town and then exits to the north-west (Corfield). The Central Western railway line takes the same route, the town being served by the Longreach railway station. The Thomson Developmental Road commences at the town and passes through the south-east of the locality (briefly passing through the westernmost part of Ilfracombe) before exiting to the south (Stonehenge).

In Longreach, the streets are named after species of birds, with the streets running east–west named after water birds and those running north–south after land birds. The main business street is called Eagle Street. Other streets honour Hudson Fysh, an Australian aviation pioneer, and Sir James Walker, a farmer and long-serving mayor of the former Longreach Shire Council.

History

Longreach lies within the traditional tribal lands of the Iningai people. Iningai (also known as Yiningay, Muttaburra, Tateburra, Yinangay, Yinangi) is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken by the Iningai people. The Iningai language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Longreach Region, particularly the towns of Longreach, Barcaldine, Muttaburra and Aramac 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 and Blackall-Tambo Shire Council.

The first Europeans to enter the area were part of the expedition led by William Landsborough in 1862. This party initially tried to intimidate the resident Iningai by galloping their horses at them and shooting over their heads, but the Iningai were undeterred. Through an Aboriginal Native Police trooper named Jemmy who accompanied Landsborough and spoke the Iningai language, they were able to communicate with the Iningai and were told the geography of the region and shown the best roads to travel by. An Iningai man named Wittin acted as their guide.

In 1862, the enormous Bowen Downs cattle station was established across the region by William Landsborough, Nathaniel Buchanan and Edward Cornish, with the financial backing of Robert Morehead and Matthew Young of the Scottish Australian Investment Company. In 1872, Bowen Downs was divided into two huge properties, the section along the Thomson River being named Mount Cornish, managed by Edward R. Edkins. An outstation of this Mount Cornish cattle station was called Longreach, because it was situated on a long reach of the Thomson River. This location later developed into the township of Longreach.

From its inception, Longreach had a sizable Asian population. The Chinese conducted business as bakers, general merchants, conducted a laundry and provided locally caught fish for sale. They were generally remembered as the main suppliers of vegetables and other garden produce up until and during the Second World War. The gardens were located at Thomson River and Gin Creek but were not as profitable as they could have been due to the regularity of grasshopper plagues harvesting the crops. This forced many gardeners to abandon their gardens and by the 1940's the Chinese residents no longer concentrated on market garden for their livelihood. The majority of the Chinese community not involved in gardening lived and worked at the lower end of Eagle Street.

Demographics

In the 2011 census, the town of Longreach had a population of 3,137 people.

In the 2016 census, the locality of Longreach had a population of 2,970 people.

In the 2021 census, the locality of Longreach had a population of 3,124 people.

Heritage listings

Longreach has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

Longreach railway station, Capricorn Highway (23.4401°S 144.2523°E / -23.4401; 144.2523 (Longreach railway station))

Longreach Ambulance Centre, 111 Ibis Street (23.4401°S 144.2461°E / -23.4401; 144.2461 (Longreach Ambulance Centre))

Qantas Hangar, Landsborough Highway (23.4395°S 144.2708°E / -23.4395; 144.2708 (Qantas Hangar))

Darr River Downs, Landsborough Highway (formerly in Morella, 22.8964°S 143.9821°E / -22.8964; 143.9821 (Darr River Downs))

former Longreach Powerhouse, 12 Swan Street (23.4404°S 144.2455°E / -23.4404; 144.2455 (Longreach Powerhouse))

Economy

4.9% of the population works in beef cattle farming compared to 0.7 per cent nationally.

Facilities

Longreach has a visitor information centre, swimming pool, Powerhouse Museum and parks. Shopping facilities in the town include IGA, FoodWorks and Prices Plus. As part of nationwide restructuring, Target Country closed its store on Eagle Street in April 2021.

Longreach Regional Council operates the Longreach Library at 106 Eagle Street.

The Longreach branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association has its rooms in Duck Street. There is also a branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association in the former Morella (now part of Longreach).

Until 2021, Longreach had a local cinema. Star Cinema Longreach operated for 33 years before closing due to a combination of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise in popularity of streaming services. Prior to the construction of the modern Star Cinema in 1988, films were shown at the Roxy Theatre which was rebuilt and reopened in 1953 after a fire destroyed the original premises in 1952 forcing films to be temporarily screened in the shire hall.

Education

Longreach State School is a government primary (Early Childhood to Year 6) school for boys and girls at 125 Ibis Street (23.4413°S 144.2454°E / -23.4413; 144.2454 (Longreach State School)). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 197 students with 19 teachers (18 full-time equivalent) and 17 non-teaching staff (12 full-time equivalent).

Longreach State High School is a government secondary (7–12) school for boys and girls at Jabiru Street (23.4382°S 144.2619°E / -23.4382; 144.2619 (Longreach State High School)). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 179 students with 24 teachers (22 full-time equivalent) and 16 non-teaching staff (10 full-time equivalent).

Longreach School of Distance Education is a government primary and secondary (Early Childhood to Year 10) school for boys and girls at Sir James Walker Drive (23.4413°S 144.2825°E / -23.4413; 144.2825 (Longreach School of Distance Education)). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 181 students with 28 teachers (24 full-time equivalent) and 15 non-teaching staff (11 full-time equivalent).

Longreach State School Special Education Program is a primary and secondary (Early Childhood to Year 12) special education program at Longreach State School at Kingfisher Street (23.4408°S 144.2442°E / -23.4408; 144.2442 (Longreach SS - Special Education Program)).

Our Lady's Catholic Primary School is a Catholic primary (Preparatory to Year 6) school for boys and girls at 85 Eagle Street (23.4394°S 144.2511°E / -23.4394; 144.2511 (Our Lady's Catholic Primary School)). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 91 students with 10 teachers (9 full-time equivalent) and 7 non-teaching staff (4 full-time equivalent).

The town is home to the Australian Agricultural College's Longreach Campus, which prepares students for work in the agricultural and pastoral industries. It was known previously as the Longreach Pastoral College. The campus was opened in 1967. Adjacent to the college is the Longreach School of Distance Education, which provides lessons to remote students, formerly by HF radio but now using telephone lines. The agricultural college in Longreach closed December 2019.

Media

The Longreach Leader newspaper is issued weekly.

ABC Western Queensland, a part of the ABC Local Radio network, broadcasts from studios on Duck Street in the town.

Attractions

Longreach is the home of the Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame, which was officially opened in 1988 by Queen Elizabeth II. The purpose of the centre is to showcase the history and the culture of life in rural Australia. Since its opening, over 3 million people have visited.

Longreach was one of the founding centres for Qantas, the Australian domestic and international airline, the third oldest airline in the world (after KLM and Avianca), being founded on 16 November 1920 in Winton. One of the airline's original hangars remains in use at the Longreach Airport and is listed on the Australian National Heritage List. The town is now the home of the Qantas Founders Museum, which includes amongst its displays a decommissioned Qantas Boeing 747-200 aircraft, registration VH-EBQ, The City of Bunbury, and Qantas's first jet aircraft VH-XBA (formerly VH-EBA), a Boeing 707, The City of Canberra.

Notable residents

Notable residents of Longreach include:

Carl Barron, stand-up comedian, born in Longreach

Lobby Loyde, guitarist in the Purple Hearts and Coloured Balls, born in Longreach

Bruce Saunders, Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, born in Longreach

Matthew Scott, rugby league footballer, born in Longreach

Edgar Towner, Victoria Cross winner, died in Longreach and was buried in the cemetery there. His grave is a protected place.

Climate

Longreach experiences a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen: BSh), with very hot summers and very mild winters, albeit with cool nights. There is strong seasonal temperature variation, with average maxima vary from 23.7 °C (74.7 °F) in July to 37.6 °C (99.7 °F) in December. Average annual rainfall is low: 430.5 mm (16.95 in), occurring within 32.6 rainfall days, primarily in the summer. The town is sunny, averaging 163.7 clear days and only 51.6 cloudy days annually.

Extreme temperatures have ranged from −3.3 °C (26.1 °F) on 27 June 1908 and 6 July 1908 to 47.9 °C (118.2 °F) on 26 January 1947.