Roma, Queensland
Encyclopedia
Roma is a town in the western Darling Downs
Darling Downs, Queensland
The Darling Downs is a farming region on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland, Australia. The Downs are to the west of South East Queensland and are one of eleven major regions of Queensland....

 area of Queensland, Australia, 515 km (320 mi) by rail WNW of Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...

. It is situated at the junction of the Warrego
Warrego Highway
The Warrego Highway is located in southern Queensland, Australia. It connects coastal centres to the south western areas of the state, and is approximately 750 km in length. It takes its name from the Warrego River, which is the endpoint of the highway...

 and Carnarvon
Carnarvon Highway
The Carnarvon Highway is a state highway of Queensland, linking Moree south of the NSW/QLD border, via the town of St George, eventually to the township of Rolleston. North of Roma it is known as the Carnarvon Developmental Road. National Route 46 runs from Moree to St George...

 highways. It is the centre of a rich pastoral and wheat-growing district, The town was incorporated in 1867 and is named after Lady Diamantina Bowen
Diamantina Bowen
Lady Diamantina Bowen was a Greek noble who became the wife of Sir George Ferguson Bowen, the first governor of Queensland.-Personal life:...

 (née Roma), the wife of Sir George Ferguson Bowen
George Ferguson Bowen
Sir George Ferguson Bowen GCMG was a British colonial administrator whose appointments included postings to the Ionian Islands, Queensland , New Zealand, Victoria , Mauritius and Hong Kong....

, the Governor of Queensland at the time. Beef, grain and wool are its chief industries. It is in the Maranoa
Division of Maranoa
The Division of Maranoa is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. The division was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. It is named for the Maranoa River, which runs through the division...

 electoral district. It also serves as a centre for the larger Maranoa Region. At the 2006 census
Census in Australia
The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...

, Roma had a population of 5,983.

Bore water for the town is obtained from the Artesian Basin. Many homes have a tank for rainwater delivered by a third tap at the kitchen sink as the town water has a strong taste.

Hotels, pubs, and churches feature prominently near the centre of town. The ten hotels are within easy walking distance with most adjacent to another hotel. St Paul's Church of England is a copy of a 13th Century English Church in the shape of crucifix.

History

Roma was named after Lady Diamantina Bowen
Diamantina Bowen
Lady Diamantina Bowen was a Greek noble who became the wife of Sir George Ferguson Bowen, the first governor of Queensland.-Personal life:...

 (Contessa Diamantina di Roma), wife of the first Governor of Queensland, George Bowen in 1867. In 1863 Samuel Symons Bassett brought Queensland's vine cuttings to Roma and established the Romaville Winery and a century later, Roma was the site of Australia's first oil and gas discoveries .

Captain Starlight, cattle rustler was tried and acquitted in the Roma Courthouse
Roma Courthouse
Roma Courthouse is located at 141 McDowall Street, Roma in Queensland, Australia. Constructed in 1901, the heritage-listed courthouse is a rendered masonry building, which is still in use today...

. No successful conviction for cattle rustling has been made in Roma.

In late 2010, Roma experienced its worst floods in over 100 years.

Agriculture

The Maranoa's agriculture industry is worth approximately $620 million annually, 64.3% being generated from crops. 58.7% of businesses in the Maranoa are in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector, which employs 32.7% of the region's workforce. 2005 was a record year for Roma saleyards processing 390,000 head of cattle. Roma is home to Australia's largest cattle saleyards.
Forestry plantations include Hardwood
Hardwood
Hardwood is wood from angiosperm trees . It may also be used for those trees themselves: these are usually broad-leaved; in temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen.Hardwood contrasts with softwood...

 and Cypress Pines. Roma and the Maranoa region is home to Australia's most active native Cypress Pine sawmilling.

Oil and Gas

In 1906 natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...

 was used for lighting in Roma. The industry has expanded as more reserves were discovered.

Origin Energy
Origin Energy
-History:Origin Energy was formed in February 2000, as a result of a demerger from the Australian conglomerate Boral Limited, in which the energy business was removed from the building and construction materials business to form the new company....

's Spring Gully Coal Seam Gas Development is about 80 km north of Roma and its projects include an 87 km gas pipeline to Roma's neighbour town of Wallumbilla, Queensland
Wallumbilla, Queensland
Wallumbilla is a community in Queensland, Australia, situated five hours by road west from Brisbane, just east of Roma. At the 2006 census, Wallumbilla had a population of 285....

 to connect with the 434 km Roma-to-Brisbane gas pipeline hub there http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/87958, http://www.coderegistrar.sa.gov.au/pipe_qld/qld_trans.pdf (see portfolio map of Queensland projects). Origin Energy is proposing Spring Gully Power Station as an $870 Million, 1000MW power station that will provide electricity to South-East Queensland. With a base at the Spring Gully CSG site, the power station will have the benefit of being close to the source of gas and able to use the waste-water left over from the other CSG operations.

Employment

Roma has a relatively low unemployment rate of 2.9% in 2004.

Tourist attractions

Local tourist attractions include the Big Rig and Oil and Gas Museum, Romavilla Winery and Roma Saleyards. To the north of the town is Carnarvon Gorge
Carnarvon Gorge
Carnarvon Gorge is located in the Southern Brigalow Belt bioregion in Central Queensland , 593 km northwest of Brisbane. Primarily created by water erosion, Carnarvon Gorge is around 30 kilometres long, and six hundred metres deep at the mouth...

 in Carnarvon National Park
Carnarvon National Park
Carnarvon National Park is located in the Southern Brigalow Belt bioregion in Central Queensland , 593 km northwest of Brisbane...

.

Notable people

  • Darren Lockyer
    Darren Lockyer
    Darren Lockyer is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. He was the captain of the Australian national team, the Queensland State of Origin team and his National Rugby League club, the Brisbane Broncos. His professional career spanned between 1995 and 2011...

    , Australian rugby league captain
  • Arthur Beetson
    Arthur Beetson
    Arthur Henry "Artie" Beetson, OAM , was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach. He represented Australia and Queensland from 1964 to 1981. His position was at prop. Beetson became the first Indigenous Australian to captain his country in any sport. and is frequently cited as the best...

    , Australian rugby league captain
  • Willie Carne
    Willie Carne
    William Carne is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played for the Brisbane Broncos from 1990 to 1996, as well as representing both Queensland and Australia...

    , Australian rugby league international
  • Brent Tate
    Brent Tate
    Brent Tate is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League...

    , Australian rugby league international
  • Ray Higgs
    Ray Higgs
    Ray Higgs is an Australian former rugby league footballer of the 1970s. An Australian international and Queensland representative forward, he played club football for the Parramatta Eels and Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership.Originally from Roma,...

    , Australian rugby league international
  • Wally Fullerton-Smith, Australian rugby league international
  • Ray Meagher
    Ray Meagher
    Ray Meagher surname pronouned "Marr" , is a veteran Australian character actor. He has appeared regularly in Australian film and television since the mid 1970s, and is notable as the longest continuing performer in an Australian television role, as Alf Stewart on Home and Away, having played the...

    , Actor, and amateur rugby player

External links

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