Biloela

The town was established on what had once been Gangulu tribal lands.[5] Gangalu (Gangulu, Kangulu, Kanolu, Kaangooloo, Khangulu) is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken on Gangula country. The Gangula language region includes the towns of Clermont and Springsure extending south towards the Dawson River.[6]

The name Biloela is generally believed to come from an Aboriginal word (possibly from the Sydney area) for cockatoo.[3][4] The Government dockyards in Sydney were known as Biloela during 1871–1913 in an endeavour to remove the perceived stigma of the prior Cockatoo Island convict establishment.[7][8][9]

The town was gazetted in 1924; it was on the Rannes-Monto railway line.[10] Land sales were held in Rannes in December 1924.[11]

Biloela Post Office opened by January 1925.[12]

Biloela Provisional School opened on 22 June 1925 and become Biloela State School in 1928. An opportunity class commenced on 29 January 1975, becoming a special education unit in January 1979. On 4 February 1957 a secondary department was opened, closing when the high school opened in 1963.[13][14]

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School was established by the Sisters of Mercy and opened on 31 January 1939.[13] The Sisters operated the school until 1980 when the first lay principal was appointed.[15]

The first open-cut mine was established in 1942.

In 1963, work began on the Callide Power Station.

The Biloela State High School opened on 29 January 1963.[13][14]

At the 2016 census, Biloela had a population of 5,727.

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 4.3% of the population.
• 77.7% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were New Zealand 1.9% and Philippines 1.8%.
• 82.7% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Vietnamese at 1.9%.
• The most common responses for religion were Catholic 25.7%, Anglican 18.3% and No Religion 17.2%.[1]

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

• 48 Gladstone Road: Greycliffe Homestead[16][17]

Biloela has a warm subtropical climate, with hot to warm temperatures all year round. Winter nights can occasionally drop below freezing; however, winters are usually warm and dry, with pleasant sunny days. Summers are hot and humid, with most rain falling with occasional thunderstorms. Record temperatures have ranged from 43.1 °C (109.6 °F) to −4.7 °C (23.5 °F). The wettest 24-hour rainfall was 199.6 millimetres (7.86 in) on 31 January 1978.

Biloela and the Banana Shire, dubbed by the council as 'The Shire of Opportunity', has a diverse range of industries.[19] Extensive grazing and cropping concerns are found in the area. Cotton, sorghum and wheat are grown in the area. The Callide Power Stations lie just north of the town. Coal was discovered on Callide Creek in 1891[20] and is now mined at the nearby Callide[21] and Boundary Hill mines which supply the power station. The third largest abattoir in Queensland is situated in the town.[22]

Callide is an open-cut mining operation providing low sulphur, sub-bituminous thermal coal primarily for Queensland's domestic power generation.

The closest fresh water depository is the Callide Dam, however it is often well below capacity due to low rainfall in the area. Despite this, the dam acts as a popular site for water skiing, camping, swimming and fishing. In particular, the dam is a haven for Eel-tailed catfish, Yellowbelly, Saratoga and Barramundi. The largest ever Barramundi recorded was at the 2008 Callide Dam fishing competition, measuring 138 centimetres (54 in).

The Callide Dam was constructed in 1965 to supply water for a nearby power station in Biloela in the state of Queensland, Australia. Callide Dam holds 136,300 megalitres (3.60×1010 US gal) at an average depth of 10.5 metres (34 ft) and a surface area of 1,240 hectares (3,100 acres) at full capacity. The dam supplies water to the Callide Power Station.

Biloela State School is a government primary (Early Childhood-6) school for boys and girls at 48 Rainbow Street (24.3983°S 150.5161°E / -24.3983; 150.5161 (Biloela State School)).[23][24] In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 364 students with 32 teachers (27 full-time equivalent) and 19 non-teaching staff (13 full-time equivalent).[25] It includes a special education program.[23]

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School is a Catholic primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 66 Rainbow Street (24.3969°S 150.5147°E / -24.3969; 150.5147 (St Joseph's Catholic Primary School)).[23][26] In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 224 students with 20 teachers (19 full-time equivalent) and 14 non-teaching staff (5 full-time equivalent).[25]

Biloela State High School is a government secondary (7-12) school for boys and girls at Cnr Scoria Street & Gladstone Road (24.3988°S 150.5178°E / -24.3988; 150.5178 (Biloela State High School)).[23][27] In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 577 students with 56 teachers (53 full-time equivalent) and 32 non-teaching staff (22 full-time equivalent).[25] It includes a special education program.[23]

Redeemer Lutheran College is a private primary and secondary (Prep-11) school for boys and girls at 2 Collard Street (24.4014°S 150.5190°E / -24.4014; 150.5190 (Redeemer Lutheran College)).[23][28] In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 253 students with 18 teachers and 19 non-teaching staff (14 full-time equivalent).[25]

Ambulance station, 2014

The Banana Shire Council has its shire chambers at 62 Valentine Plains Road.[29] There is an ambulance station at 32 Kariboe Street.[30]

Banana Shire Council operate a library on the corner of Grevillea and Melton Streets.[31]

The Valentine Plains branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association meets at the CWA Hall at 271 Valentines Plains Road, Valentine Plains.[32]

In March, the Callide Dam also plays host to the annual Callide Dam Fishing Competition in which a number of introduced stock are caught.[33]

In April, Rotary holds its annual Ute muster.[33]

The Callide Valley Show including the Callide Valley Ball and the Rodeo are held each May.[33]

The Callide Dawson Machinery Preservation Club holds an annual Old Wheels in Motion Rally in July.[34]

November has a number of annual events: the Arts and Crafts Day, the Brigalow Arts Festival and the Biloela Festival.[33]

Biloela holds an annual Rock Edge Country Music Festival (VDMfest) in October.[33]

Various sporting organisations are active within the community, such as Panthers Rugby League Club, Biloela Rugby Union Club, Biloela Touch Football Association, Callide Valley Tennis Association, Biloela Netball Association, Biloela Golf Club, Biloela Cricket Association, Biloela Valley's Football Club (soccer), Biloela Swimming Club, Biloela Dirt Rider Club and the Biloela Police Citizens Youth Club.

Biloela's local newspaper is the Central Telegraph which is issued weekly. The newspaper was formerly owned by APN News & Media but has been owned by News Corp Australia since 2016.[35][36]

Gladstone-based AM radio station 4CC services the Biloela area via a local transmitter which broadcasts on a separate frequency to the main Gladstone transmitter.[37] This enables 4CC to play separate commercial breaks in the Bilolea region, to attract Biloela businesses to buy advertising, to target people in the local area as opposed to the entire Central Queensland region.[38]

Rebel Media stations Rebel FM[39] and The Breeze[40] also broadcast to Biloela and other centres in the Banana Shire, although neither station has any local programming as all their programs originate from studios on the Gold Coast. Rebel FM has a new rock & classic rock music format while The Breeze offers an easy adult contemporary & classics hits format.

Biloela receives all free-to-air television services part of the Central Queensland television market, therefore receives the Rockhampton-based television stations and their associated local news bulletins and commercial breaks. News from the Biloela area is often included in the local news bulletins originating from Rockhampton.[41][42][43]

In a long-running case in which a couple of Tamil asylum seekers, Kokilapathmapriya Nadesalingam (Priya) and Nadesalingam Murugappan (Nades), were refused refugee status after settling and starting a family in Biloela, the community rallied to support the family, who became known as "the Biloela family" in the press. The family were removed in a dawn raid on their home and taken to Melbourne March 2018, pending deportation.[44] Since then, various legal avenues have been pursued, with the family taken to Christmas Island Detention Centre in late August 2018. In April 2020 they were awarded costs of more than $200,000 against the federal government, for lack of procedural fairness in assessing their youngest daughter's claim.[45][46]

• HMAS Biloela
• Thangool Airport

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Biloela.

• "Biloela". Queensland Places. Centre for the Government of Queensland, University of Queensland.
• Town map of Biloela, 1985
• 'Station to town', a 1932 newspaper description of Biloela
• Callide Valley Show