Betoota, Queensland
Encyclopedia
Betoota is a small town in Diamantina Shire
, in the Channel Country
of far south west Queensland
, Australia
which has a seasonal population; the last permanent resident, Sigmund Remienko, died in 2004. Betoota is situated on a gibber plain
, 170 kilometres east of Birdsville and 227 kilometres west of Windorah.
The town has been designated as Australia's smallest town. The only facilities in Betoota are a racetrack and a dry weather airstrip. Visitors are drawn to the town during the annual Simpson Desert Carnival which is held in September.
and has timber floors. The hotel operated until 1997 when its owner Sigmund (Simon) Remienko retired at 82 years of age. Originally from Poland, Sigmund worked as a grader driver until he bought the Betoota Hotel in 1957. Owning the hotel for 47 years, Simon was Betoota's sole resident until ill health forced him to move. In October 1997, the hotel closed.
In 1885, the Queensland Government opened a customs post to collect a toll for stock travelling the stock route. Betoota was once a Cobb & Co change station.
In 1895, a police presence was established in the town as construction of a rabbit-proof fence
in the region was attracting many "undesirable characters" to the town. A police station with a court was built in 1915 but was closed in 1930 because an inspection in 1928 found no-one had been taken into custody or placed before the court in more than five years.
Diamantina Shire Council
The Shire of Diamantina is a Local Government Area located in Central West Queensland, bordering South Australia and the Northern Territory. Like most places in Queensland with the "Diamantina" name, it was named after Lady Diamantina Bowen , the wife of the first governor of Queensland, Sir George...
, in the Channel Country
Channel Country
The Channel Country is region of outback Australia located mostly in the state of Queensland but also in portions of South Australia, Northern Territory and New South Wales. The name comes from the numerous intertwined rivulets that cross the region, which cover 150,000 km²...
of far south west Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
which has a seasonal population; the last permanent resident, Sigmund Remienko, died in 2004. Betoota is situated on a gibber plain
Plain
In geography, a plain is land with relatively low relief, that is flat or gently rolling. Prairies and steppes are types of plains, and the archetype for a plain is often thought of as a grassland, but plains in their natural state may also be covered in shrublands, woodland and forest, or...
, 170 kilometres east of Birdsville and 227 kilometres west of Windorah.
The town has been designated as Australia's smallest town. The only facilities in Betoota are a racetrack and a dry weather airstrip. Visitors are drawn to the town during the annual Simpson Desert Carnival which is held in September.
History
The town was surveyed in 1887. Only three streets were ever named. The Betoota Hotel was built in the late 1880s and is now the last remaining building in town. The building is constructed of sandstoneSandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
and has timber floors. The hotel operated until 1997 when its owner Sigmund (Simon) Remienko retired at 82 years of age. Originally from Poland, Sigmund worked as a grader driver until he bought the Betoota Hotel in 1957. Owning the hotel for 47 years, Simon was Betoota's sole resident until ill health forced him to move. In October 1997, the hotel closed.
In 1885, the Queensland Government opened a customs post to collect a toll for stock travelling the stock route. Betoota was once a Cobb & Co change station.
In 1895, a police presence was established in the town as construction of a rabbit-proof fence
Rabbit-proof fence
The State Barrier Fence of Western Australia, formerly known as the No. 1 Rabbit-proof Fence, the State Vermin Fence and the Emu Fence, is a pest-exclusion fence constructed between 1901 and 1907 to keep rabbits and other agricultural pests, from the east, out of Western Australian pastoral...
in the region was attracting many "undesirable characters" to the town. A police station with a court was built in 1915 but was closed in 1930 because an inspection in 1928 found no-one had been taken into custody or placed before the court in more than five years.