Cooladdi

Cooladdi is a ghost town and locality in the Shire of Murweh, Queensland, Australia.[2][3] The town is 826 kilometres (513 mi) west of the city of Brisbane. In 2015, the population was 3 (down from 4 in 2013), all of whom reside at the general store.[1]

Cooladdi
Queensland
Cooladdi
Coordinates26°38′25″S 145°27′42″E
Population3 (2015)[1]
Postcode(s)4479
Elevation300 m (984 ft)
Location
LGA(s)Shire of Murweh
State electorate(s)Warrego
Federal Division(s)Maranoa
Suburbs around Cooladdi:
Adavale Langlo Ward
Adavale Cooladdi Bakers Bend
Humeburn Wyandra Murweh

It is Australia's smallest town.[4]

Geography

The town is in the centre of the locality. The Western railway line passes from east to west through the town and locality; the town was served by the Cooladdi railway station. The Diamantina Developmental Road also passes from east to west through the town and locality.[5]

History

Gunya (also known as Kunya, Kunja, Kurnja) is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken by the Gunya people. The Gunya language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Paroo Shire Council, taking in Cunnamulla and extending north towards Augathella, east towards Bollon and west towards Thargomindah.[6]

The railway station was originally called Yarronvale after a local pastoral station with the town taking its name from the railway station. However, it was renamed in 1913 to Cooladdi, an Aboriginal word meaning black duck, to avoid confusion with the pastoral station, which was 15 miles away.

Cooladdi was a railhead for the local pastoral community. At one time, Cooladdi had a school, post office, and police station with a population of about 270 people. As the railway line extended further west, Cooladdi's role and population declined.[7]

The Cooladdi State School originally opened on 19 March 1926 as a Provisional School with 9 students under teacher A.W. Marsh. In 1933 a new school building was constructed and the school redesignated as a State School. The school closed on 3 May 1974.[8][9][10]

References
  1. Arthur, Chrissy (16 November 2015). "Stories and photos capture vibrant past of Queensland's outback 'ghost town' Cooladdi". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  2. "Cooladdi - town (entry 8067)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  3. "Cooladdi - locality (entry 42925)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  4. "I spent the night in Australia's smallest town. Here's what I saw". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  5. "Queensland Globe". State of Queensland. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  6. "Gunya". State Library of Queensland. 21 January 2020.
  7. "Naming Stations—Glass House Mountains". The Brisbane Courier (17, 512). 28 February 1914. p. 4. Retrieved 21 September 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. Queensland Family History Society (2010), Queensland schools past and present (Version 1.01 ed.), Queensland Family History Society, ISBN 978-1-921171-26-0
  9. "WESTERN LINE". Daily Mail (7289). Brisbane. 9 July 1925. p. 14. Retrieved 21 September 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. "Agency ID182, Cooladdi State School". Queensland State Archives. Retrieved 21 September 2016.

Further reading
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